Delhi sees chaos as rain, thunderstorms cause waterlogging, flight delays
An intense thunderstorm in Delhi resulted in waterlogging, traffic snarls, and four fatalities due to a fallen tree.
An intense thunderstorm hit the national Capital in the early hours of Friday, leading to widespread waterlogging in the city, traffic snarls and loss of life. Four people were killed while one got injured after a tree fell on a tubewell room in a farm in Kharkhari village in Dwarka, police said on Friday morning.
Flight operations were also impacted in the early hours of the day, with at least three flights diverted and over 100 delayed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, officials aware of the matter said.
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Though the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Thursday issued a yellow alert for Friday, forecasting thunderstorm with drizzle and gusty winds of up to 50 km/hr, this alert was upgraded to a ‘red alert’ — for the public to be most vigil and take preventive action — at around 5:30am.
The red alert said moderate to heavy rain is expected in the capital with a ‘severe’ thunderstorm and winds of 70-80 km/hr likely to be recorded till around 8:30am.
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The storm also brought moderate to heavy rainfall to most parts of the city, leading to waterlogging. IMD data showed Safdarjung, Delhi's base station for weather, received 77mm of rainfall in just six hours between 2:30 am and 8:30 am. During the same period, 45.6mm was logged at Palam, 59.2mm at Ridge, 78mm at Lodhi road, 71.5mm at Pragati Maidan and Pitampura, 39.4mm at Ayanagar, 50mm at Pusa, 67.5mm at Jaffarpur and 40mm at Najafgarh.
The IMD also said a maximum wind speed of 80 km/hr was reported in the city, which was recorded at Safdarjung at 5:10 am. "This was followed by a maximum speed of 78 km/hr, which was recorded at Pragati Maidan at 5:30 am. At Palam, it was 74 km/hr at 5:19 am," said an IMD official.
IMD senior scientist RK Jenamani said there was a drop in temperature by 7-10°C at most places after the storm hit the city.
"Due to the storm, temperature fell by around 7-10°C at most places. For instance, at Lodhi road, it fell from 28.2°C at 5:15 am to 20.7°C at 5:30 am. Similarly at Jafarpur, it dropped from 28.4°C at 19°C," Jenamani said, stating the last time Delhi recorded a heavier 24-hour spell of rain in May was 2021. "This was when we had 119.3mm of rainfall in a single day on May 20, 2021, in association with the movement of the remnants of the cyclone Tauktae," he said.
Since January 1, Safdarjung has only recorded a cumulative rainfall total of 10.2mm, making this an extreme spell of rain. With this spell, the monthly rainfall total for May has also been eclipsed. Normally, Delhi averages 30.7mm of rainfall in the month of May.
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Soon after the rain and thunderstorm began, visuals emerged of waterlogged roads in the city.
Notably, the infamous Minto bridge was waterlogged, with Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta subsequently calling for an inspection at 8:30am. However, officials said the waterlogging there was cleared within an hour, between 7:30am and 8:30am.
Responding to the waterlogging, PWD minister Parvesh Verma posted on X, stating,” Today, due to unseasonal record rainfall, water stagnated in some quantity at many places in Delhi. From 5:30am onwards, I went to many places and took stock of the situation. On going to Minto Bridge, I saw that all the four pumps were working, and the operator was also alert. A pipe had burst, and I have been asked to repair it. In view of the monsoon, the cleaning of drains is being done continuously by PWD, MCD, DJB, NDMC, IFC,” he said.
Other parts of the city where waterlogging was reported included Civil Lines, ITO, Pitampura, Preet Vihar, Moti Bagh, Bhairon Marg railway underpass and around CGO complex, among others. No other major underpasses seemed to be impacted.
At Delhi’s IGI airport, the strong wind shear and rain meant flights had to be diverted to nearby airports. A total of three diversions were reported — one to Ahmedabad and two flights to Jaipur, officials said. Over 100 flights were also delayed in the early hours. Despite unverified reports, the airport clarified there was no structural damage during the storm.
“Please be informed that no structural damage has been reported at Terminal 3. The airport is operating as normal, with some impact on flight operations due to adverse weather conditions. All stakeholders are working together to ensure a seamless and efficient passenger,” the airport said in a statement.
