Delhi on red alert, sees change in weather as heavy rain pounds capital; roads and streets waterlogged
Heavy rainfall hit Delhi on Monday morning. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for several districts in the city.
HEAVY showers swept across parts of Delhi on Monday morning, bringing a sharp change in weather and prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for several districts in the capital city. The warning covered parts of East, South and Central Delhi.
The IMD said that Delhi was under a yellow alert the previous day, as it had rainfall between 8.30 pm on Saturday and 8:30 am on Sunday. Still, conditions intensified rapidly as monsoon activity strengthened.
Waterlogging was reported at Kamla Nagar, Connaught Place and Ashok Nagar metro stations, among other areas. The sudden downpour overwhelmed the city's drainage system, leaving roads inundated and commuters stranded.
Traffic snarls became widespread, with vehicles stuck for long stretches in low-lying areas. Commuters struggled to wade through flooded roads as surface runoff pooled across major intersections and underpasses.
IMD in its latest weather report said, “Generally cloudy sky — possibility of very light to light rain at a few places during early morning to afternoon. Several parts of the city witnessed heavy downpour and thunderstorms, including South East Delhi, East Delhi, Shahdara, Central Delhi, North East Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi, South West Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi and North Delhi.
The weather agency added, "The maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi are likely to be in the range of 33°C to 35°C and 24°C to 26°C, respectively. The minimum temperature will be near normal (-1.5°C to 1.5°C) at most places, and the maximum temperatures will be near normal (-1.5°C to 1.5°C) at many places, with below normal (-1.6°C to -3.0°C) at isolated places over Delhi.”
The Met Department issued a red alert for heavy rain and a yellow alert for moderate rain across several districts, predicting winds of 30-40 kmph across the city. Safdarjung, the primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 27.8°C on Monday, 1.4°C above normal. Meanwhile, the Ridge area recorded the city's lowest minimum temperature at 24°C.
