Delhi on red alert as IMD warns of heavy rain, lightning; orange alert active for Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad

Delhi weather: The red alert is valid until 2.10 pm, with the IMD forecasting heavy rain of more than 15mm per hour in affected areas across Delhi.

Delhi has been placed under a red warning till at least 5pm on Monday as heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds hit the capital, according to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) district-wise nowcast warnings.

Parts of Delhi were placed under IMD red alert amid heavy rain till at least 2:10 pm on Monday, August 24. (ANI video)

The warning was first issued till 2.10 pm, with the IMD forecasting heavy rain of more than 15mm per hour in parts of Delhi. The updated alert is now active for all districts of the national capital.

Red warning for Delhi

The IMD's district-wise nowcast map, issued at 11.10 am, showed East Delhi under a red warning for heavy rain of more than 15mm per hour, along with thunderstorms and lightning. Winds of 30-40 km/h in the affected area.

The map also showed several other parts of Delhi under the red warning category, while adjoining areas are under an orange alert.

The updated map has extended the red-warning areas to the entire capital, with the IMD warning of heavy run.

Orange alert for NCR

The capital is likely to receive multiple spells of rain on Monday. However, the weather is expected to turn largely dry from Tuesday, with the IMD forecasting little or no rain for most of the rest of the week.

For Tuesday, the IMD has predicted only the “possibility of” very light rain during the afternoon. On Wednesday, a spell of very light to light rain is expected at a few places before noon. From afternoon to evening, another spell of very light to light rain is likely at many places, while moderate rain is expected at isolated places.

From Thursday to Sunday, the IMD has stated that no rain is expected, with partly cloudy skies likely to persist.

The IMD categorises rainfall up to 15.5mm as light, between 15.6mm and 64.4mm as moderate, between 64.5mm and 115.5mm as heavy, and between 115.6mm and 204.4mm as very heavy.

Why Delhi may see a dry spell

Experts said the changing rainfall pattern is linked to the monsoon axis not remaining over Delhi.

“It is still fluctuating, and is mainly remaining at the Himalaya foothills. It travels slightly southwards during the night, and thus we saw some rain during the nights on the weekend. However, from Tuesday onwards, the city’s weather is likely to be completely dry, as the axis will move completely to the foothills. Due to this, we are expecting dry weather to remain till the end of August, and even during early September,” said amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya.

Experts said the changing rainfall pattern is linked to the monsoon axis not remaining over Delhi.

Private weather forecaster Ashwary Tiwari also warned of intense but scattered spells in parts of Delhi and the neighbouring areas.

“Scattered heavy rains with loud lightning strikes, gusty winds up to 25km/h will occur in parts of Ghaziabad, East Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Delhi, South Delhi, and nearby areas during next two hours. The weather will remain humid and hot after the spell ends, and there is a probability of more such scattered events in upcoming 2 days,” Tiwari posted on X at 10:55 am.

Delhi rainfall crosses August average

On Monday, Safdarjung, the IMD station considered representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 3mm of rain. Delhi’s monthly rainfall is calculated by adding the daily rain received at Safdarjung on all days of the month.

With Monday’s rain, the total rainfall recorded in Delhi so far this month stands at 246.3mm, around 13mm higher than the IMD’s long-period average (LPA) rainfall of 233.1mm for August.

Last year, Delhi recorded a significant rain surplus, with 400.81mm of precipitation between August 1 and 31. The city had crossed its August LPA on August 15, after 11 days of rain.