Rain triggers waterlogging in Delhi, disrupts traffic

Rain soaked Delhi on Wednesday, leaving several parts of the city waterlogged and slowing down traffic. The India Meteorological Department issued ‘red’ and ‘orange’ alerts, warning of thunderstorms and more rain over the next few hours.

Safdarjung, the city’s base weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 25.4 degrees Celsius. It received 14.2 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours that ended at 8.30 am, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

It said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and heavy rain were very likely over a few districts and thunderstorms with light to moderate rain were likely over the other districts in the next few hours. Wind speeds are expected to reach 40 kmph.

Several areas, including Sadar Bazar, Nasirpur, Greater Kailash, Badarpur, Teliwara, Mahavir Bazar, Swarup Nagar and Kushak Road, among others, were waterlogged.

Pedestrians were seen wading through knee-high water in some places.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on Rohtak Road, where traffic was almost brought to a standstill between Punjabi Bagh and Shadipur for several hours. The situation worsened as several two-wheeler riders took shelter from the rain under the elevated metro corridors, creating bottlenecks.

The ITO intersection also witnessed traffic congestion.

Commuters faced delays on Ring Road, Outer Ring Road and National Highway 48, particularly near Dhaula Kuan, Mahipalpur and Rajokri, due to reduced visibility and waterlogging.

Vehicular movement was also affected on Mathura Road near Ashram, Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, Zakhira flyover, Moti Nagar, Patel Nagar, Naraina, AIIMS, South Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand, Azadpur, Mukarba Chowk and stretches of the Delhi-Noida Link Road.

Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather had said on Tuesday that the continuous rainfall over Delhi was caused by the interaction of a western disturbance over northern Pakistan, an intense low-pressure area over central Madhya Pradesh and moisture-laden monsoon winds from the Arabian Sea.

Rainfall intensity would gradually decrease over the next two days as temperatures rise slightly, he had said.

Several commuters took to social media to share videos of vehicles wading through waterlogged roads and stuck in long queues.

A social media user said, “Just a little rainfall has exposed the poor condition of the roads — severe waterlogging, damaged roads, overflowing drains, and unsafe conditions are causing inconvenience and putting commuters at serious risk. Immediate action is needed.”

Another person said, “This is what few hours of rain does to the roads in Delhi.”

Traffic police personnel were deployed at major intersections to regulate traffic and clear congestion, while civic agencies worked to drain water from affected stretches.

Authorities advised commuters to avoid waterlogged routes, maintain a safe distance between vehicles and check traffic updates before heading out.