Delhi crosses 1,000mm rain for 2024

Incessant rain across the National Capital Region (NCR), beginning from the early hours of Friday, took Delhi’s rainfall for the year and rainfall received during the ongoing monsoon season past the 1,000mm mark — the highest since 2021, and the second highest in at least the last decade, India Meteorological Department (IMD) data revealed.
The Capital recorded multiple spells of rain throughout the day, leading to traffic snarls across NCR as roads became waterlogged. The inclement weather, however, did not unduly affect operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, with only one flight diversion reported.
The Safdarjung observatory, representative of Delhi’s weather, received 29.6mm in the 24 hours till 8:30 am on Friday, followed by 45.5mm in the next nine hours, and 10.2mm between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm, IMD data showed. Delhi’s annual rainfall total stood at 1063.6 mm by 8:30 pm, well above the long-period average of 774.4mm. Meanwhile, the monsoon rainfall total now stands at 1018.9mm — well above the long period average of 640.3mm.
IMD said a depression, which was over Uttar Pradesh since Thursday, continued to feed moisture to Delhi on Friday. This eventually weakened and turned into a low-pressure area; however, there was still moisture incursion from the monsoon trough and a western disturbance — enough to lead to rain of varying intensity over the Capital.
“We had drizzle to light intensity rain in most parts of Delhi since Thursday, which continued in the early hours of Friday. The depression was centred around Uttar Pradesh and turned into a low-pressure area, which continued to feed moisture to the region. This will continue to weaken and we expect rain intensity to reduce further,” said the IMD official.
The Met department has a yellow alert in place for Saturday, forecasting light to moderate rain in the city. No rain is forecast on Sunday.
Separately, Gurugram on Friday recorded 18mm of rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm, which followed 4mm of rain in the preceding 24 hours.
The incessant rain also led to Delhi breathing its cleanest air of the year so far. In fact, Delhi’s air was briefly in the “good” zone, dipping to an average AQI of 41 at 9 am. However, by 4 pm, when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) releases its national bulletin, the AQI had increased to 52 (satisfactory).
The lowest AQI so far this year was 53 (satisfactory) on August 8. The last time Delhi had a lower AQI was 45 (good) on September 10, 2023.
The rain also led to a flight being diverted at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport due to bad weather. However, officials said operations were not impacted overall. “Only one flight was diverted due to bad weather in the evening. This was an Air Asia flight from Bagdogra, which was diverted to Lucknow,” said an airport official.
Overcast skies continued to keep Delhi’s temperature low as well. The maximum was 27.6°C, six degrees below normal. It was 27.9°C a day earlier. The minimum stood at 21.4°C, four notches below normal. It was 23.1°C a day earlier.
Traffic woes across NCR
The rain led to waterlogging in several parts of NCR, leading to massive traffic snarls across the region.
According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) waterlogging complaints were reported from Narela, Rohini, Mundka, Badarpur, Mangolpuri, Kirari, Mahavir Enclave, Moti Bagh and Aurobindo Marg. Towards the evening, waterlogging was witnessed on MB Road near Sainik Farm and Saket Metro station, parts of Mathura Road near Ashram, Aurobindo Marg near IIT Delhi, and in parts of Najafgarh, apart from Rohtak Road.
“With ongoing drain construction work and the potholes that have developed, Rohtak road remained one of the worst affected areas, especially on the stretch from Nangloi to Tikri border,” said an official from Public Works Department (PWD).
“Several key roads in central Delhi such as Akbar Road-Teen Murti Road, Satya Marg near Qatar Embassy, near Bangladesh high commission in Chanakyapuri, Mandi House, and APJ Abdul Kalam Road faced traffic snarls during the evening peak hours,” said a traffic police official.
“People on two-wheelers stopped under flyovers to avoid the rain and ended up blocking the road,” said Amar Seth, a resident of Sarojini Nagar who works in ITO.
In Gurugram, severe waterlogging led to kilometres-long traffic snarls NH-48 and MG Road, with Sohna Road and Golf Course Road among the other arterial roads witnessing major jams.
The most significant jam occurred on the Delhi to Jaipur carriageway of NH-48, with commuters reporting that they were stuck for several hours between Iffco Chowk and Sector 32. Another major snarl occurred on the carriageway leading towards Delhi, starting from DLF Phase 4 and stretching all the way to Shiv Murti in Delhi.
“It is frustrating because this happens every time it rains heavily, and yet there is no proper drainage system in place,” said Rakesh Kumar, a commuter who was stranded near Narsinghpur.
Gurugram deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Virender Vij said traffic police personnel were deployed across the city locations to regulate the movement of vehicles. “At several locations, trees were uprooted and fell on the roads, further blocking traffic. These were removed as quickly as possible with the help of manpower and equipment,” he said.