Delhi takes a chill pill: October rain brings down temp, causes waterlogging, traffic snarls

Delhi takes a chill pill: October rain brings down temp, causes waterlogging, traffic snarls

New Delhi, Dense dark cloud blanketed the national capital on Tuesday as early October rain brought down the mercury by several notches after a hot weekend. However, the downpour also sharply reduced visibility and caused traffic jams and waterlogging in several areas.

Delhi takes a chill pill: October rain brings down temp, causes waterlogging, traffic snarls

At Palam Airport, visibility fell from 6,000 metres at 1.30 pm to 1,200 metres by 5 pm, according to the India Meteorological Department .

Many parts of the city appeared gloomy during the day as rain continued to lash the city, brought on by the impact of a western disturbance.

Till 5.30 pm, the Palam weather station recorded 41.6 mm of rainfall, while Ridge recorded 37 mm. The city’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 5.8 mm of rainfall, according to IMD data.

The change in weather also caused a sharp dip in temperatures.

The city’s maximum temperature settled at 29.8 degree Celsius, 4.4 notches below normal. A sharp drop from Sunday's high of 36 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature today was 21 degree celsius, 1.3 notches below normal.

Tuesday’s heavy rains brought traffic movement to a crawl across several parts of Delhi, leading to long snarls and severe inconvenience for commuters.

Key arterial stretches were choked as waterlogging worsened congestion at multiple points.

Delhiites took to social media platform X to flag the situation and appeal for immediate intervention from traffic authorities.

“There is a huge traffic jam on the Dwarka Expressway from Bamnoli and Chhawla. Kindly take immediate action,” a netizen wrote while tagging the Delhi Traffic Police.

Another commuter complained of “heavy and unprecedented traffic jam at the traffic light near Sadar Metro station on Dwarka Road,” urging officials from Delhi Cantt to “do the needful.”

In East Delhi, residents reported severe waterlogging and slow movement of vehicles in Patparganj.

“Massive traffic jam in Patparganj due to severe waterlogging near Retreat Apartment,” a person wrote on X.

According to traffic police officials, movement was hit in several stretches due to persistent rain and accumulation of water in low-lying areas.

Long queues of vehicles were reported from Arya Samaj Road in Patparganj, Bara Tooti Chowk in Sadar Bazar, Old Rohtak Road, Shadipur Metro Station, and many more stretches.

Congestion also affected commuters heading towards the airport, with heavy traffic reported from Connaught Place to Dhaula Kuan. Similar conditions prevailed on Roshanara Road and up to Azad Market Chowk red light, where vehicles moved bumper to bumper for long durations.

With intermittent showers continuing through the day, traffic police deployed additional personnel at key choke points to regulate movement.

Commuters, meanwhile, continued to share visuals and updates of the city’s rain-induced gridlock online, urging authorities to improve drainage and manage traffic more effectively.

The IMD has forecasted cloudy skies on Wednesday and placed the city under the green zone, with maximum and minimum temperatures expected around 31 degree celsius and 20 degree celsius, respectively.

On Tuesday, the city was under yellow and orange weather alerts, it said.

The air quality was recorded in the "satisfactory" category at 4 pm, with an Air Quality Index reading of 73, Central Pollution Control Board data showed. According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor", and 401 to 500 "severe".

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.