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Waterlogging, traffic snarls: Rain brings Delhi to its knees
The waterlogged streets in Delhi led to traffic jams in areas like Press Enclave Road and both carriageways of Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar metro station.
The short but intense rain spell on Tuesdayled to waterlogging in several parts of the national Capital. As per forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate rain is likely on Wednesday too.
The waterlogged streets on Tuesday morning led to traffic jams in areas such as Press Enclave Road and both carriageways of Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar metro station till noon.
According to IMD data, Safdarjung, Delhi’s weather base station, recorded 8.8mm of rainfall between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM on Tuesday, while Ridge in north Delhi recorded 22.4mm during the same period. This was followed by 22.2mm at Rajghat, 14.2mm at Lodhi Road, 11mm in Najafgarh, 13.5mm in Pusa, 1.5mm in Ayanagar, and 0.5mm in Palam.
In the 24 hours till 8.30 AM, the Ridge had logged 64.8mm in total.
Waterlogging was reported on MB Road near Sainik Farms, Saket Metro Station, parts of Mathura Road near Ashram, Rohtak Road, Aurobindo Marg near IIT Delhi and in parts of Najafgarh. Additionally, Mathura Road on the Sarita Vihar to Badarpur stretch, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg from Kalkaji, both carriageways of GT Karnal Road between Mukarba Chowk and Azadpur, and both carriageways of Guru Teg Bahadur Road also saw minor waterlogging, though the water drained out within about half an hour, officials said
“There is a possibility of light to moderate rain on Wednesday, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds. From Thursday, we will mainly see scattered very light to light rain,” an IMD official said. The IMD has meanwhile forecast intense spells to continue near the foothills till July 24 with the trough hovering there.
Delhi’s maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 32.6°C, two degrees below normal. The minimum stood at 26°C, which was a degree below normal. Relative humidity oscillated between 83% and 100% on Tuesday.
So far this month, Delhi has logged 136.3mm rainfall. The city normally sees 209.7mm in July. Last year, 203.7mm was logged and 384.6mm was seen in 2023. Delhi has mostly seen light to moderate rain this month, with no heavy rainfall spells so far.
The IMD classifies rainfall as “light” when it is up to 15.5mm; “moderate” when it is between 15.6 to 64.4mm and “heavy” when it is over 64.4mm in a 24-hour window.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi government calling the waterlogging instances a failure of the four-engine government.
“Just a 10-minute spell of rain on Tuesday brought Delhi to a standstill. Roads were flooded, traffic was paralysed, and chaos reigned everywhere—despite BJP controlling all key agencies: NDMC, DDA, PWD, and MCD. When BJP’s all four engines are junk, the vehicle doesn’t move four times faster—it consumes four times the fuel and makes four times the noise,” the party said in a statement.
Urban development minister Ashish Sood in a press conference on Tuesday said it was surprising that the AAP was raising questions about waterlogging.
“Our CM goes from ITO to Barapullah to take corrective action. Their CM did not even come to Delhi secretariat. Their PWD minister went to jail for scams. Our PWD minister is working on-ground to tackle waterlogging. Is this waterlogging only due to our four-month-old government? We have been raising questions about the PWD scams by the previous government in desilting of drains. Waterlogging is a result of 10 years of corruption and neglect by the AAP government.”
AQI improved
The rain also helped improve Delhi’s air quality. Briefly in the “moderate” range during the day, the air quality index (AQI) stood at 88 (satisfactory) at 4pm on Tuesday. It was 93 (satisfactory) at the same time on Monday.
Forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (AQEWS) shows the air quality is likely to remain in the “satisfactory” range till Friday. “The outlook for the subsequent six days from July 25 onwards is that the air quality is likely to be in the ‘satisfactory’ to ‘moderate’ category,” said EWS.
