Heavy rain leaves Delhi in dire straits with waterlogging, traffic woes

While no colour-coded alerts are in place for Thursday, the IMD has forecast similar weather to persist, with light to moderate rain likely in the city.

The Capital recorded widespread light to moderate showers on Wednesday morning which for the second consecutive day led to waterlogging in several areas and traffic snarls during peak office hours.

Commuters seen wading through heavily waterlogged stretch over Rohtak Road in New Delhi (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Though no colour-coded alerts are in place for Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast similar weather to persist, with light to moderate rain likely in the city. A drop in rain intensity, however, is likely from Friday, with scattered light rain expected till Sunday, it said.

In the 24 hours till 8.30am, base weather station Safdarjung logged 14.4mm of rain. In the same period, Lodhi Road recorded 20.6mm, Palam 1.9mm, Ridge 32.8mm, Pragati Maidan 38.9mm, Pusa 23.5mm, Najafgarh 13mm and Janakpuri recorded 18.5mm rain.

Scattered light rain was also witnessed around noon as well. Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Safdarjung added another 9.3mm of rainfall, crossing the 150mm-mark in monthly rainfall. With 151.2mm rain in July so far, the station inched closer to its monthly long-period average of 209.7mm. Last year, 203.7mm was logged and 384.6mm was seen in 2023.

“There is ample moisture in the air. Similar light to moderate rain activity is expected on Thursday, with rain intensity to drop from Friday,” said an IMD official.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature stood at 30.8°C, four degrees below the normal level. The minimum was 25.6°C. The air quality remained “satisfactory” with a reading of 67.

Crippling waterlogging

The Public Works Department received around 15 waterlogging complaints till 10am from several areas, including Keshavpuram, Seelampur, Anand Parbat Road and Vinod Nagar. Inundation was also seen under Zakhira flyover and parts of Karkardooma and Pitampura, leading to traffic snarls. However, Minto Bridge, a perennial hot spot, remained unaffected.

The situation was equally bad around New Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, with knee-deep water accumulating in low-lying areas. Waterlogging was also seen on MB Road near Sainik Farm and Saket metro station, in Najafgarh and Rohtak Road. Press Enclave Road and both carriageways of Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar station saw traffic congestion.

Additionally, Mathura Road, Lala Lajpat Marg, GT Karnal and GTB Road also saw minor waterlogging. Similar scenes were witnessed in Patparganj, with a video shared by AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj showing a resident in an inflatable boat. A second video shared by him showed a person swimming in water at West Vinod Nagar. In Janakpuri’s Joginder Singh Marg, a portion of the road collapsed after rains, with the area cordoned off.

MCD school flooded

A video of an MCD school — Nagar Nigam Balika Vidyalaya — emerged on social media, where a classroom is purportedly inundated with knee-high water as students sat on desks and benches. Parents and students could be seen wading through waist-high water outside the premises. The video was shared by the AAP’s Atishi, who questioned the BJP’s monsoon preparedness.

Last year, HT flagged the waterlogging problem outside the school. MCD and the school did not comment Wednesday. Responding to the AAP’s criticism, BJP’s Virender Sachdeva said the government’s efforts this season has prevented inundation in waterlogging-prone areas.

‘City on track to see cleanest July’

Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Delhi was on track to record the cleanest July with an average air quality index (AQI) of 67 so far. Sirsa said Delhi has already recorded 118 days of “good to moderate” AQI so far — close to the 120 such days seen in 2024. “This is not a seasonal blip — it is the result of multi-agency implementation model...and a clear commitment to outcome-based governance,” the minister said.