E-Paper
IMD red alert in Delhi for heavy rain; severe waterlogging at IGI Airport
Delhi weather today: Along with Delhi, UP's Noida and Ghaziabad were also placed under an orange warning by the IMD for rain.
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Delhi and its adjoining areas experienced moderate to heavy rain from afternoon on Friday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to elevate the yellow warning for the city to a red alert, cautioning of more downpour accompanied with thunderstorms.
While the weather conditions impacted flight operations in Delhi, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was also left heavily waterlogged on Friday after several hours of rain. Visuals from the airport showed people carrying luggage trolleys through ankle-deep water.
Nine flights — four to Jaipur, as many to Lucknow and one to Ahmedabad — were diverted between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm.
Air India issued an advisory for its passengers and said in a post on X that flight operations to and from Delhi stand chances of being affected due to adverse weather conditions.
Along with Delhi, Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Ghaziabad were also placed under an orange warning by the IMD, according to the nowcast seen on its website at around 3:30 pm. There was no warning for Haryana's Gurugram.
According to the IMD's three-hourly rainfall data cited in a PTI news agency report, Palam recorded 3.4 mm of rain between 11.30 am and 2.30 pm, while Najafgarh received 0.5 mm between 8.30 am and 11.30 am. Most other monitoring stations recorded no rainfall during these periods.
Some parts of Delhi and its adjoining areas also experienced severe waterlogging after hours-long rain, with vehicles seen wading through flooded streets in videos.
Delhi temperature
Delhi on Friday recorded minimum temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius, 0.1 degrees above normal, according to station-wise data from Palam, while Lodhi Road recorded 27.6 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees above normal.
The Ridge recorded a minimum of 23.7 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 27 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees above normal.
The maximum temperature was expected to hover around 32 degrees Celsius, while humidity was recorded at 75 per cent in the morning hours.
Wetter-than-normal August
The latest spell comes after a wetter-than-normal August for the capital. Delhi recorded 354.1 mm of rainfall between August 1 and August 30 till 5:30pm, more than 120mm above the IMD’s long-period average (LPA) of 233.1 mm for the month, HT earlier reported.
The city had also logged excess August rainfall in 2025 and 2024, when it received 400.81mm and 390.3mm, respectively. These were the first instances since 2020 when August rainfall crossed the LPA, with the city recording 237 mm that year.
Since 2011, Delhi has crossed the August rainfall LPA only six times — in 2012, 2013, 2020, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Meanwhile, Haryana recorded its first rainfall deficit for August in three years, receiving 138.5 mm of rain against the normal 146.1 mm, a shortfall of 5%, according to IMD data.
Gurugram recorded 217.4 mm of rainfall against a normal of 185.1 mm, a surplus of 17%, placing the district in the normal rainfall category, as per IMD. The city received 66.5 mm of rainfall between August 21 and 27, which was 58% above its normal weekly rainfall.
