Delhi: Severe waterlogging, traffic jams across city after heavy rainfall

Heavy overnight rains caused waterlogging in many parts of Delhi, disrupting traffic on Thursday morning.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the minimum temperature dropped to 23 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average. Humidity was at 100 per cent at 8.30 am.

Heavy traffic was observed in several areas where vehicles were moving slowly.

The Safdarjung observatory, which provides representative data for the national capital, recorded 77.1 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours up to 8.30 am Thursday.

Other observatories also recorded significant rainfall: Lodhi Road had 92.2 mm, Ridge 18.2 mm, Palam 54.5 mm, and Ayanagar 62.4 mm, according to the IMD.

IMD’s parameters classify 2.5-15.5 mm of rain as light, 15.6 mm-64.4 mm as moderate, 64.5-115.5 mm as heavy, 115.6-204.4 mm as very heavy, and over 204.5 mm as extremely heavy rainfall.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘yellow’ alert in the city, predicting heavy showers throughout the day, with the maximum temperature expected to be around 32 degrees Celsius.

Police shared information on X about waterlogged roads, advising commuters to plan their journeys accordingly.

Traffic movement was affected on both carriageways of GTK Road, from Mukarba Chowk towards Azadpur Chowk and vice versa, due to waterlogging near the GTK Depot, according to the Traffic Police.

Traffic was also impacted on both carriageways of MB Road, from Khanpur towards Shooting Range T-Point and vice versa, and on Rohtak Road’s Nangloi to Tikri Border carriageway due to waterlogging.

“Due to waterlogging near GGR/PDR underpass and Ring Road under Dhaula Kuan Flyover, traffic will remain affected on Ring Road, Vande Mataram Marg, and NH-48,” the Traffic Police said.

Traffic was disrupted on NH-48 near Mahipalpur, on Aurobindo Marg near PTS, and on Josip Broz Tito Marg towards Chirag Delhi.

Due to waterlogging under GGR flyover near APS Colony and the breakdown of two buses, traffic was also affected from NSG light towards Vasant Vihar and Dhaula Kuan, the Traffic Police added.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the “satisfactory” category, with a reading of 60 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.