Brief rain in Delhi brings relief, disruption

Showers are also expected over the weekend, as the India Meteorological department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for the period.

Several parts of the city received light to moderate rain on Friday, bringing a brief respite from muggy conditions, but leading to waterlogging in some areas and subsequent traffic snarls.

A child relishing the showers on Friday evening. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Showers are also expected over the weekend, as the India Meteorological department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for the period, warning of possible light to moderate rain.

On Friday, while base weather station Safdarjung did not record any rain, other stations recorded significant rain — Pusa recorded 13.5mm of rain between 11.30am to 2.30pm and 21 mm of rain between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm; Janakpuri recorded 15mm of rain between 11.30 am and 2.30 pm and 0.5 mm of rain in the next few hours; Ridge recorded 4.4mm of rain throughout the day till 5.30pm, and Palam recorded 5.2mm of rain.

According to IMD, up to 15.5mm of rainfall is considered as “light rainfall”, 15.6mm to 64.4mm as “moderate rainfall”, 64.5mm to 115.5mm as “heavy rainfall” and 115.6mm to 204.4mm is considered as “very heavy rainfall”.

“A yellow alert had been issued for the day and the alert has been extended to the weekend as well. Generally cloudy skies are expected to persist, along with light to moderate rain, accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning,” said an IMD official.

So far this month, Safdarjung has received only 4.1mm as compared to a normal of 17.4 mm. The normal long period average (LPA) for entire July, according to IMD, is 209.7 mm.

Weather experts said rainfall activity is expected to pick up from Saturday.

“Rainfall action has started across National Capital Region in a scattered manner but activity will increase from Saturday and is expected to peak between July 6-8 as monsoon axis will remain close to the Capital,” said Ashwary Tiwari, who runs the IndiaMetSky handle on social media platform X.

Meanwhile, Delhi continued its run of recording “satisfactory” air quality for the ninth day -- the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 78 at 4pm on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The air quality is expected to remain “satisfactory” category for the next couple of days, according to forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi.

Waterlogging and traffic

With mostly light rain throughout the day, most of the arterial road stretches did not witness prolonged waterlogging on Friday. However, internal city streets were inundated, as per complaints received by agencies.

According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), minor waterlogging complaints were reported from Narela, Rohini, Mundka, Badarpur, Mangolpuri, Kirari, Mahavir Enclave, Moti Bagh and Aurobindo Marg.

Towards the evening, waterlogging was seen on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road near Sainik Farm and Saket metro station, near Tughlaqabad air force station in Sangam Vihar, near Munirka metro station, between Adarsh Nagar metro station and Azadpur Mandi, Aurobindo Marg near IIT Delhi and in parts of Najafgarh, apart from Rohtak Road.

“With ongoing drain desilting and construction work and the potholes that have developed, some areas may see minor waterlogging,” said an official from the Public Works Department (PWD).

None of the underpasses saw waterlogging on the day.

However, breakdown of certain vehicles, including buses and trucks, and water-filled potholes led to traffic snarls in some areas, as many motorists took to social media to register their complaints.

With the monsoon already having hit the Capital, the Public Works Department has completed just about 90% of its desilting work, even as work to lay new drains is underway. Officials attributed the delay to late awarding of tenders. Additionally, more work had to be done owing to personal monitoring and weekly reports sought by senior officials, they said.

The Delhi government, anticipating a normal to above-normal monsoon this year, in early May issued directions to all civic and infrastructure agencies to treat desilting as a top priority.