Waterlogging woes in Delhi after short, intense spell of rain

A series of intense spells of showers in the first half of the day threw afternoon traffic into chaos again with several reports of waterlogging across Delhi as the city experienced another humid day with relatively clean air on Tuesday.

Weather scientists said that a hazy morning, with the relative humidity remaining high, was the key factor that led to the formation of localised thunderclouds over Delhi-NCR, experts said.

The Safdarjung weather station, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, received 30.8mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday. Lodhi Road received 35mm during the same period; the Ridge station received 11.3mm; Delhi University 10.5mm, Palam 8.5mm, and Ayanagar received 8mm precipitation.

For Safdarjung, this was the second heaviest spell of the year so far, behind the mammoth 228.1mm rainfall recorded on June 28 – the day the onset of the monsoon was declared over Delhi.

Since then, Delhi only recorded a cumulative rainfall figure of 19.3mm up until Tuesday.

“In the morning, we had high moisture and once the Sun came out, we saw fairly quick formation of rain clouds. This led to localised … rain over most parts of Delhi. We also had opposing winds converging over NCR – northwesterly and southeasterly, which also brought moisture,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology.

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast for Tuesday was of “very light” to “light” rain, which means the weather agency yet again made an incorrect prediction about downpour in the city. IMD officials did not comment on why they failed to predict Tuesday’s downpour.

IMD had predicted an increase in intensity – “light to moderate” showers – on Thursday and Friday.

Palawat said an increase in rain activity is expected from Thursday, due to the monsoon trough returning closer to Delhi. “We may see a similar spell on Thursday and Friday now,” he said.

Air quality remains satisfactory

Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) meanwhile stood at 84 (satisfactory) at 4pm on Tuesday, when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) releases its daily national bulletin. This was a deterioration from a reading of 56 (satisfactory) a day earlier – the lowest so far this year. The average AQI is expected to improve once more, following Tuesday’s showers.

An AQI of 51 to 100 is classified as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 is classified as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 is classified as “poor”, between 301 and 400 is classified as “very poor” and over 400 is “severe” by CPCB.

Delhi’s relative humidity oscillated between 74% and 98% on Tuesday. Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 33.2°C – three degrees below normal. It was 32.2°C a day earlier. The minimum meanwhile stood at 27.2°C, which was around normal for this time of the year.

Forecasts show the maximum should hover between 34-35°C till Friday, while the minimum will be between 25-27°C in the same period.

Waterlogging leads to snarls

Meanwhile, Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) said it received over 35 calls for waterlogging across parts of Delhi. The major points where waterlogging was recorded included ITO, Indraprastha Marg, Azadpur underpass, Babarpur-Loni Road and Rajdhani-Mundka road among others.

“All waterlogging was cleared by the evening, however, some water was still present on Mundka Road till the evening and was being cleared,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

During a spot-check on Monday afternoon, HT found instances of waterlogging at the ITO bus stop, Rafi Marg, the roundabout near Press club, Majnu Ka Tilla, Magazine road, Masjid Moth and Khajuri Khas among other areas.

New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) officials said four waterlogging-related complaints were received from sites such as Shivaji Stadium, Minto Bridge and Purana Quila, however, the level of water accumulation was low and the problems were resolved quickly.

The monsoon report issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) stated that the MCD helpline received waterlogging complaints from 18 areas and parts of trees were damaged at seven sites. Tree uprooting complaints were received from areas like Kalkaji extension, Mayur Vihar Phase-2, M block in Greater Kailash, GK-1 Pocket-2, Dabri Mor, Barakhamba and Pandav Nagar. The water logging complaints came from South and Central Delhi areas like S block in Greater Kailash, CR Park, Lajpat Market, underpass near Azad Market and Mall Road.

Also on Tuesday, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva questioned the preparations of the Aam Aadmi Party-led government regarding the waterlogging caused by just a few minutes of rain.

He alleged that the rain “once again exposed” the shortcomings of the Delhi government. “Crores are being squandered in the name of cleaning drains by the Delhi government’s Jal Board, Public Works Department, Flood Department, and Delhi Municipal Corporation but areas like ITO, Sangam Vihar, Burari, Deoli, Kishanganj, Chandrawal, Rajendra Nagar, and Najafgarh, experienced significant waterlogging on June 28 and July 3, were once again submerged in just a few minutes of rain. Delhi government should call an all-party meeting within 24 hours on the cleaning of drains and monsoon preparedness or be ready to face BJP’s protest.” he added.

In response, the AAP in a statement said, “If it rained for 20 minutes then water got cleared within 20 minutes. No structures built by the Kejriwal government have crumbled. In stark contrast, many newly inaugurated airports and bridges constructed by the BJP government are falling apart.”