The Delhi Police have issued an advisory for early morning commuters to avoid key arterial Rohtak Road due to heavy waterlogging and potholes. This follows a night of light to moderate rainfall that left significant parts of the city waterlogged and disrupted traffic. Multiple weather stations recorded over 100mm of rainfall until Thursday morning.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast scattered drizzle to light rain in parts of Delhi on Thursday morning. A yellow alert has been issued for the rest of the day, indicating potentially worsening weather with light to moderate rainfall likely in parts of the city.
The heavy rain was caused by a convergence of thunderclouds on Wednesday evening, resulting in extremely intense rainfall of over 50mm per hour initially. The intensity of the rain decreased after 8:30 pm but continued in most parts of Delhi until 2:30 am when the clouds began to clear.
On Thursday morning, police reported that water had been drained from affected areas such as Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg near Majnu Ka Tilla and the Okhla underpass, which had impacted traffic late on Wednesday evening. Commuters were previously warned to avoid stretches like Anuvrat Marg, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Dilli, and Outer Ring Road.
IMD reported that several weather stations, including Safdarjung, which represents Delhi’s weather, received heavy rainfall—defined as over 64.4mm in a 24-hour period—from 8:30 am on Wednesday until 5:30 am on Thursday. Specific recordings included Safdarjung with 107.6mm, Palam with 68.3mm, Delhi University with 104.5mm, Najafgarh with 112.5mm, and Mayur Vihar with 147.5mm. Moderate rainfall was recorded at Narela (39.5mm) and Pitampura (45.5mm) during this period.
No rainfall was recorded at any weather station between 2:30 am and 5:30 am, which allowed agencies to clear the waterlogged roads.