Delhi-NCR sees fresh late-night rain spell amid outages, flight woes: 10 points

Delhi-NCR saw another overnight spell of rain and thunderstorms after early morning showers on Monday morning brought down the temperatures by 11 degrees in 1.5 hours, and also caused air and road traffic disruptions. The IMD ((India Meteorological Department) on Monday evening had predicted a fresh round of showers in the national capital and parts of Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. Across north India, the wet spell has brought a much-needed relief from the heatwave, which had led to mercury surging to record 49 degrees-mark.

Here are ten points on the Delhi weather:

1. The National Capital Region experienced gusty winds - touching 75 km per hour - on Monday as trees were uprooted and public infrastructure was also damaged while locals faced civic issues in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, and Noida. This was the first challenge for the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

2. Flight cancellations, delays, diversions led to chaos at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. More than 100 flights were delayed and flights were diverted to Jaipur, Mumbai, Amritsar among other cities.

3. Traffic congestion peaked in the morning and evening rush hours in Delhi and nearby cities. In Gurugram, more than 2,500 cops were deployed on Monday to ease the woes.

4. Later, the Gurugram District Administration urged private firms to allow “work for home” wherever possible so that congestion on roads could be avoided. Gurugram received the highest rainfall in Haryana at 35 mm.

5. According to private agency Skymet, the city registered a new record with May recording the lowest temperature in a decade on Monday.

6. Heatwave in the NCR and nearby regions has subsided for now and is not in sight, it has been predicted. Last few weeks brought tormenting heat to the city and parts of north India. Temperatures passed the 49 degree mark in parts of Delhi as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh too looked for relief.

7. Monday’s showers have ended the 80-day dry spell in Punjab’s Ludhiana in much relief for locals.

8. Chandigarh received 11.5 mm rainfall on Monday. “A Western Disturbance (WD) had been affecting the region since the weekend and the system peaked on Monday. The temperature will remain low on Tuesday, but will start rising from Wednesday.”

9. In Haryana, Ambala, Gurugram, Kurukshetra, Kaithal Karnal, Fatehabad, Mahendergarh, Jhajjar, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Panchkula, Panipat, Sonepat and Jind districts witnessed light to heavy rain.

10. 13mm rainfall was reported in Haryana with maximum 35mm in Gurugram, followed by 29mm in Kurukshetra, 23.8mm in Kaithal , 23.4mm in Jhajjar, 22mm in Karnal, 18mm in Yamunanagar, 15mm in Rohtak and 13mm in Panchkula, said the IMD.