Heavy rains lead to traffic snarls, water-logging in Delhi

Heavy rains lashed the national capital, bringing much needed respite from hot and humid conditions, but also caused water-logging and brought the traffic to a standstill in various parts of the city on Tuesday evening.

Indira Gandhi International Airport also bore the brunt of the heavy downpour, which led to diversion of four flights, including an Air India flight from Mumbai in which Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was coming to Delhi. Three other flights were of IndiGo from Dibrugarh, one of Jet Airways from Mumbai and another of JetLite from Port Blair. All these flights were scheduled to arrive between 7 pm and 8 pm.

According to MeT department, 69.5 mm of rains was recorded at Safdarjung MeT station while 27.4 mm at Palam airport between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm.

The rains brought much needed relief to Delhiites from sultry weather conditions during a dry spell. However, commuters had a harrowing time as many parts of the city witnessed water-logging and traffic snarls including Laxmi Nagar, ITO, Kashmere Gate, Munirka, Dwarka and Dhaula Kuan. Long queue of cars and buses were seen at various places, as it was the peak time for office goers to return home.

"I had to wade through knee-deep water in South Extension. Traffic was crawling and no autos were available as the roads were flooded," said Debapriyo Choudhary.

The metropolis had been witnessing almost a dry spell since June 17.

On Tuesday, Delhiites experienced a cool and pleasant day as intermittent rain in parts of the national capital brought down the temperature below normal. The metropolis received around 3.3 mm rains, which brought the minimum temperature two notches below the season's average at 25.2 degree Celsius.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 35.2 deg C, which was normal for this time of the year. The humidity level oscillated between 65 and 92 per cent.

MeT has predicted a cloudy sky on Wednesday, with possibility of rains or thundershowers in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 36 and 26 degree C respectively.

Image: Vehicels wade through a water-logged road in Delhi

Photograph: Reuters