Rains drench Delhi; waterlogging, traffic disruptions in several areas

Delhi: Rains lashed the national capital on Tuesday, leading to waterlogging and traffic snarls in several parts of the city.

Several areas, including South Delhi, South East Delhi, Central, National Highway 8, the Delhi-Jaipur stretch, Old Rohtak Road, Peeragarhi, ITO, AIIMS, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, and Madhuban Chowk reported traffic jams.

Lutyens’, which houses major government buildings and embassies, experienced severe waterlogging following several hours of rain. A section of Janpath Road was submerged, with water seeping into multiple shops along the way.

The road linking Janpath to Jantar Mantar was also partially flooded. This area, managed by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), is located less than 500 metres from Parliament House.

The Mehrauli-Badarpur stretch was among the worst affected, witnessing bumper-to-bumper traffic well into the afternoon, with motorists reporting delays of up to an hour.

Many commuters vented out their frustration on X.

“I travelled to Gurgaon from Delhi at 8 AM, was stuck near the airport for hours. Horrible traffic. Covered just 18 km in two hours,” said one commuter.

Another X user said, “Meanwhile, I spent 2 hours covering 30 km on the Gurugram-Delhi route. Footpaths are gone, and the cities are overcrowded.”

Traffic came to a standstill from Nangloi towards Najafgarh.

Another commuter reported being stuck for over 30 minutes on the Delhi-Ghaziabad road “just to cross a one-kilometre stretch.”

More showers are likely later in the day, the weather office said.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of the year, while the maximum is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius.

The relative humidity was 83 per cent at 8.30 AM.

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The air quality in the city was in the moderate category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 103, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

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

The airport authorities issued a passenger advisory following IMD’s forecast of inclement weather in the national capital.

“As per the Indian Meteorological Department’s forecast, inclement weather conditions are expected in Delhi. However, flight operations at Delhi Airport are currently normal,” the advisory stated.

The advisory added that on-ground teams are working closely with all stakeholders to ensure smooth and hassle-free travel for passengers.