Delhi | Heavy rains bring Capital to standstill

Published by

Saurav Gupta

June 28, 2024 9:57 am

Delhi | Heavy rains bring Capital to standstill

Heavy rains drenched Delhi on Friday leading to widespread waterlogging and the collapse of a portion of the roof at Terminal-1 of the Delhi airport.

The Safdarjung weather station recorded 153.7 mm of rainfall, starting around 3 am.

Also read: Delhi Weather: IMD forecasts heavy to very heavy rain on June 29-30

RK Jenamani, IMD scientist said, “The weather department has reported heavy rainfall over Delhi on June 28, 2024. Light to moderate rainfall was observed at most places from 4:30 am to 8:30 am.”

“However, Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall, ranging from 64 to 124 mm (2.5 to 4.9 inches or more), occurred at a few locations, with some areas experiencing extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 204 mm (8.03 inches). This was accompanied by moderate to severe thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds up to 15 to 25 kmph”, he said.

Giving the details, Jenamani informed, “Rainfall measurements from 8:30 pm on June 27 to 8:30 am on June 28 for IMD’s main stations in Delhi were as follows: Safdarjung recorded 228.1 mm (8.98 inches), Lodhi Road (Mausam Bhavan) 192.8 mm (7.6 inches), Ridge 150.4 mm (5.9 inches), Palam 106.6 mm (4.2 inches), and Ayanagar 66.3 mm (2.6 inches). The forecast had predicted light to moderate rainfall at many places, accompanied by thunderstorms. Additionally, warnings for the rainfall event were shared with users in real-time.”

Social media platforms were flooded with videos and photos showing vehicles stranded in inundated roads and lengthy traffic jams.

The traffic police issued a post on X, stating, “Traffic is affected on Outer Ring Road in both carriageways from Shantivan towards ISBT and vice-versa due to waterlogging near Y-Point Saleemgarh and Nigambodh Ghat. Kindly plan your journey accordingly.”

Other areas impacted by waterlogging included ITO, Vir Banda Bairagi Marg, and Dhaula Kuan.

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The India Meteorological Department classifies very heavy rain as rainfall between 124.5 and 244.4 mm in a day.

The roof collapse incident at the Delhi airport resulted in one fatality and five injuries, according to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials.

Saurav Gupta

With nearly six years of experience as a journalist, he has written extensively on developmental issues, policies, health, and government agency schemes across both print and digital platforms. He holds a BAJMC degree from IP University.