Intense rainfall lashes Delhi; ‘yellow alert’ issued for weekend

Brief, but intense, spells of rain lashed the city on Friday evening leading yet again to widespread episodes of waterlogging and traffic congestion across Delhi. People on their way back home from work were greeted with packed roads as peak-hour traffic was thrown out of gear with most of the rain coming in the evening.
Delhi will be on a “yellow alert” for rain over the weekend with light to moderate rain on the cards, according to a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Serpentine jams, meanwhile, were reported by commuters on several pockets of key arterial roads, including the Ring Road and Outer Ring Road.
Congestion was also reported in areas like Sewa Marg, Nahar Singh Marg, Uttam Nagar, Sarita Vihar to Kalindi Kunj, and Khanpur Road near Sainik Farms, traffic police said. Some commuters, meanwhile, reported congestion at Raja Dhir Sen Marg, Moti Nagar Metro station, NH48 to Gurugram, Shiv Murti Dhaula Kuan, Bhishma Pitamah Marg and Mukarba Chowk among others.
The Delhi Traffic Police issued advisories, saying that traffic was affected on Rohtak Road on both carriageways from the Tikri border to Peeragarhi and vice versa. The traffic police advised commuters to avoid these routes and try to commute via UER-II, Najafgarh-Nangloi Road to reach Peeragarhi. A cluster bus also broke down on a waterlogged stretch on the Najafgarh-Phirni Road.
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The combination of waterlogging and congestion — a perennial mess that plagues Delhi every monsoon — pointed to a crumbling infrastructure once again. An array of issues including inadequate desilting of drains, encroachment on public infrastructure like drain covers and footpaths, and unauthorised construction deteriorate the situation every year.
Between 5.30pm and 8.30pm, Safdarjung, representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 14mm of rain, while Palam recorded 29.6mm, Najafgarh 37.5mm and Mayur Vihar 28mm, IMD data showed.
On Friday, the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) recorded multiple calls about waterlogging and uprooted trees. PWD received 17 complaints about waterlogging and 28 about uprooted trees, from Karkardooma Metro Station road, Dichaon Kalan, Rohini Sector 7, Tilak Nagar, Kishanganj, east of Loni Road, and other areas, officials said.
From 6am to 2pm, the central control room of MCD received 14 calls about waterlogging and one call about an uprooted tree. From 2pm to 6pm, the agency received three waterlogging calls and four regarding uprooted trees. MCD said waterlogging was reported at Sector 16 Rohini, Mahipalpur Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Sonia Vihar, Mahavir Enclave, Tagore Garden Extension, Kamla Nagar, Karol Bagh, Prem Nagar and Dilshad Garden. Fallen trees were reported at Nangal Raya, Ashok Nagar, Budhela, Sonia Vihar, Sector 5 Dwarka, near Tis Hazari court, Trilokpuri and Mayur Vihar Phase 2 Pocket B.
Meanwhile, an interplay of patchy rain and good wind speed kept Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) reading in the “satisfactory” for 13th consecutive day. The city’s average 24-hour average AQI was 60, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin. On Thursday, Delhi recorded its cleanest air day of this year at 53 also “satisfactory”.
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The last time Delhi had a similar streak was last July when 13 consecutive “satisfactory” air days between July 5 and 17 were recorded.
Forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) show that more rain is in store for Delhi over the weekend. Light to moderate showers is expected to continue across Delhi-NCR on Saturday and Sunday, which will likely allow the clean air streak to prevail.
The Safdarjung observatory, considered representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 2.8mm in the 24 hours till 8.30am and 3.4mm in the next nine hours. Palam received 41.9mm till 8:30 am and 0.5mm in the next nine hours. Lodhi road had 2.7mm till 8:30 am and 8.6mm till 5:30 pm. North Delhi’s Ridge meanwhile recorded 3.9mm till 8:30 am and 11.3mm in the next nine hours. East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar had the highest rainfall during the day, recording just 1mm till 8:30 am, followed by 37.5mm in the next nine hours.
“Most parts of Delhi recorded patchy light rain. Light to moderate showers are expected in the early hours of Saturday and towards the evening again. Some isolated places may even record a short but intense spell,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, a private observatory.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said monsoons bring clean air to Delhi-NCR but ideal meteorological conditions were required for these conditions to persist — a combination of good wind speed and rain.
“What is needed is consistent rain over several days, which has a washout effect. The rain brings down pollutants like PM2.5 and PM10 and then, you start to see gases like CO, or O3 become prominent pollutants in the air. If wind speed is good, they also blow away to an extent and you get clean air, close to national standards. This is what we are seeing right now,” she said.
Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 34.8°C, which was a degree above normal. It was 34.1°C a day earlier. The minimum stood at 26.6°C, which was around normal for this time of the year. It was 25.4°C a day earlier. The maximum is likely to hover around 33°C on Saturday, while the minimum could be around 27°C, IMD said.