The Delhi-NCR region faced traffic snarls on Monday as heavy rain hit the national capital and adjoining areas, with kids seen swimming through waterlogged streets. The Aam Aadmi Party took a jibe at Delhi CM Rekha Gupta on waterlogging, saying that she was “finally delivering on her promise of making Delhi like Venice”.
This comes as Delhi remains under a red alert till at least 5pm on Monday, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds expected to continue to hit the capital, according to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) district-wise nowcast warnings.
Kids in Delhi were seen enjoying a swim on a road that looked more like a stream.
Haryana’s Gurugram saw heavy congestion and slow vehicular movement on the roads as rain brought the millennium city to a standstill due to waterlogging.
{{/usCountry}}Haryana’s Gurugram saw heavy congestion and slow vehicular movement on the roads as rain brought the millennium city to a standstill due to waterlogging.
{{/usCountry}}Several areas of Delhi also saw waterlogging, affecting traffic.
The rain brought different kinds of experiences for kids in the region. While some swam on the roads, others had to wade through waterlogged streets to get back from school.
Opposition AAP took a jibe at Delhi CM on waterlogging, saying in a post on X that she was “finally delivering on her promise of making Delhi like Venice”.
Delhi on ‘Red alert’
The Red warning was first issued in Delhi 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.
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 issuing a heavy-rain warning.
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.
Forecast for the week ahead
For Tuesday, the IMD has predicted only the “possibility of” very light rain in Delhi 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 forecast no rain, 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.
Also Read I Delhi sees wettest August start in 13 years: Non-stop rainfall leaves roads flooded, traffic crawling
Why Delhi may see a dry spell from Tuesday
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.
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 the 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 the 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.
Also Read: India’s monsoon weakens, IMD predicts below-normal rain for next two weeks
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.