Rain, gusty winds cool Gurugram; yellow alert in place till June 19

The IMD has forecast isolated to scattered rainfall across Gurugram till June 21, with intermittent showers and gusty winds.

Light rainfall accompanied by brisk winds swept across Gurugram on Tuesday, bringing relief from the heat and prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a yellow alert for continued rainfall activity and gusty winds until June 20.

Commuters on the road amid light rain at Sector-17 near IMD chowk in Gurugram. (Parveen Kumar/ HT Photo)

The district recorded a maximum temperature of 32.3°C, 3.7 degrees lower than Monday, while the minimum temperature settled at 21.7°C, 4.3 degrees higher than that of the previous day. Wind speeds touched 30-40 kmph at several locations. Gurugram received 4 mm of rainfall between Monday and 8:30 am on Tuesday.

According to the district administration’s tehsil-wise weather report, Pataudi recorded the highest rainfall at 10mm, followed by Farrukh Nagar at 3mm. Kadipur and Harsaru received 2mm each.

The IMD attributed the weather conditions to an active western disturbance over northern Haryana and moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Rainfall activity is expected on Wednesday, followed by a brief dry spell on Thursday. Another spell of rain is forecast between June 19 and 20.

Meanwhile, intermittent showers and overcast skies disrupted traffic movement during the morning peak hours. Congestion was reported on the Shankar Chowk-Sector 18 corridor, Rajiv Chowk-Delhi stretch, Sikanderpur, Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), Gurugram-Central Expressway Road (GCER) and Dhankot.

A senior traffic official said personnel had been deployed at congestion-prone locations. “Priority has been given to maintaining traffic flow. We are also coordinating with civic body officials to arrange pumps and suction tankers to prevent waterlogging during the upcoming monsoon season,” the official said.

Residents reported waterlogging on the 18-metre road in Sector 23A, Sector 41, Tulip Chowk, SPR and parts of GCER, leading to slower traffic movement.

The rainfall also improved air quality. The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 84 in the satisfactory category on Tuesday, compared to 195 on Monday. At 7pm, data from two out of four active air quality monitoring stations showed an AQI of 90 (satisfactory) at Gwal Pahari and 78 (satisfactory) at Teri Gram.