Delhi Weather: Coldest July Day In 3 Years Brings Waterlogging, Traffic Chaos

Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also posted a video from Sadar Bazar showing knee-deep water, with schoolchildren, office-goers and shoppers wading through flooded streets.

Lodi Road received 68.8 mm rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, Safdarjung stood at 57.6 mm, Ayanagar at 51.5 mm, Rajghat at 47.2 mm, Ridge at 40.6 mm, Mayur Vihar at 36 mm, Palam at 27.8 mm, Najafgarh at 0.5 mm.

Source : ANI

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Heavy monsoon rain brought widespread waterlogging, traffic chaos to Delhi.
• City recorded its rainiest and coldest July day recently.
• Civic agencies received 136 complaints, responding to severe waterlogging.

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Knee-deep water in markets, flooded roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic brought Delhi to a crawl on Tuesday as heavy monsoon rain lashed the city, triggering widespread waterlogging and disrupting life across several neighbourhoods.

The downpour made Tuesday the rainiest day of the year so far and the coldest July day in three years.

The maximum temperature settled at 29 degrees Celsius, 9.1 degrees lower than the previous day and the lowest recorded in July since July 8, 2023, when it stood at 28.7 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The city also enjoyed cleaner air, with the Air Quality Index remaining in the 'satisfactory' category.

The weather office said that Safdarjung, the city's base station, recorded 57.6 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, while parts of Delhi witnessed much heavier showers. Pusa recorded the highest rainfall at 88.5 mm during the period.

The rain left several parts of the capital waterlogged, prompting the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Public Works Department (PWD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to respond to at least 136 complaints related to waterlogging, uprooted trees and power outages.

The MCD said its central control room received 36 complaints between 2 pm and 6 pm, including 20 reports of waterlogging and 16 complaints of fallen trees. The complaints came from Paschim Vihar West, Okhla Phase II, Vasant Kunj, Laxmi Nagar, Safdarjung Enclave, Daryaganj, Mayapuri, Punjabi Bagh and several localities in Rohini and Dwarka.

A PWD official said the department received around 60 complaints of waterlogging, most of which were resolved within an hour. Another 15 complaints related to fallen trees were also received, and clearance work was underway.

The NDMC said it received 38 rain-related complaints, including 19 cases of waterlogging, six tree falls and 13 power outages, all of which were attended to on priority. The complaints came from Gole Market, Shahjahan Road, Krishna Menon Marg, Golf Links, Janpath, Connaught Place, Lodhi Colony, Sarojini Nagar, South Avenue, INA and adjoining areas.

In Rajendra Nagar, a major coaching hub, roads were submerged, reviving memories of the 2024 tragedy in which three civil services aspirants drowned after rainwater entered the basement of a coaching centre. Cars, motorcycles and auto-rickshaws were seen partially submerged in the flooded area.

In Sadar Bazar, knee-deep water inundated narrow lanes, with murky water and floating garbage forcing residents, schoolchildren and shoppers to wade through the streets. Water entered several shops, disrupting business.

Connaught Place and the adjoining Janpath market also witnessed severe waterlogging.

According to posts shared by social media users, heavy traffic was reported from Greater Kailash-II to Savitri Cinema, Chirag Dilli, Hauz Khas and RK Puram, and from Sangam Vihar to Khanpur via MB Road on both carriageways.

Traffic congestion due to waterlogging was also reported on NH-8 near Shankar Vihar, Zakir Hussain Road, the Delhi Cantt-Naraina Flyover-Mayapuri stretch, ITO, Old Rohtak Road, the Madhuban Chowk-Netaji Subhash Place stretch, Peeragarhi, NH-48 near AIIMS, the Delhi-Noida Road, Kalindi Kunj and Vikas Marg, among other arterial roads.

PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh shared a video on X from Minto Bridge showing traffic moving despite the rain and said that while rain continued to pour across the city, life on the stretch remained uninterrupted.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also posted a video from Sadar Bazar showing knee-deep water, with schoolchildren, office-goers and shoppers wading through flooded streets.

Lodi Road received 68.8 mm rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, Safdarjung stood at 57.6 mm, Ayanagar at 51.5 mm, Rajghat at 47.2 mm, Ridge at 40.6 mm, Mayur Vihar at 36 mm, Palam at 27.8 mm, Najafgarh at 0.5 mm.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 29 degrees Celsius, 5.9 notches below normal and 9.1 degrees lower than the previous day. Palam and Lodi Road recorded 29.6 degrees Celsius, 5.7 and 4.4 notches below normal, and 7.6 degrees lower than the previous day, respectively.

The Ridge station recorded a maximum of 28.9 degrees Celsius, 5 notches below normal and 7.5 degrees lower than the previous day, while Ayanagar recorded 29.1 degrees Celsius, 5.4 notches below normal and 7.3 degrees lower than a day earlier.

According to the weather office, till 8.30 am, Ridge recorded the highest cumulative rainfall at 37.6 mm, followed by Lodi Road at 36.7 mm, Safdarjung at 32.4 mm, Ayanagar at 4 mm and Palam at 0.8 mm.

The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 25.5 degrees Celsius, 1.8 notches below normal. Palam recorded 25 degrees Celsius, 2.1 notches below normal, while Lodi Road recorded 25.8 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notch below normal. The Ridge station recorded a minimum of 23.2 degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 27.1 degrees Celsius, 1.1 notches above normal.

Delhi's air quality remained in the "satisfactory" category for the 11th time this month, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) standing at 66 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

An AQI between 0 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'.

With Tuesday's rain, Safdarjung has received 197.1 mm of rainfall this month against the long-period average of 192.6 mm, an excess of 4.5 mm or 2 per cent. The Ridge observatory has recorded 244.9 mm against its long-period average of 179.3 mm, an excess of 65.6 mm or about 37 per cent.

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Wednesday and forecast a generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 33 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The weather office has also forecast light to moderate rain over the capital till the end of the month. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)