Delhi on red alert as severe weather conditions trigger rain and flight chaos

• Delhi faces red and orange alerts for rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds
• Flight operations at Delhi airport disrupted due to severe weather
• Rain expected to temporarily improve Delhi's poor air quality

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Delhi awoke to a sodden Tuesday morning as light to moderate rain swept across the NCR, triggering weather alerts and airlines releasing advisories.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a stark, two-tier warning system for the city. A red alert, indicating a need for immediate precaution, was in effect for North Delhi, North West Delhi, Central Delhi, North East Delhi, West Delhi and South West Delhi. The department forecast moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and possible hail, with wind speeds expected to reach 40-60 kilometres per hour.

Other districts — South East Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi, Shahdara and East Delhi — were placed under an orange alert, signalling a slightly lower but still significant risk of moderate rain and thunderstorms. The weather alerts were valid until 1.30 pm, with residents and commuters advised to exercise caution.

The adverse weather quickly rippled into travel plans. Several leading airlines proactively issued advisories for passengers travelling through Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Carriers including Akasa Air, IndiGo and SpiceJet urged travellers to take necessary precautions and warned that flight operations could be affected due to the disturbed conditions across Delhi-NCR.

The IMD forecast for the broader NCR suggested "partly cloudy skies with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers" in adjoining areas such as Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad throughout the day.

An expected side-effect of the downpour is a likely improvement in the city’s air quality, which had fallen back into the ‘very poor’ category. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app, Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 310 on Tuesday morning.

This decline came just days after a brief improvement triggered by a nearly day-long spell of rain earlier in the week. Meteorologists anticipate the current rainfall will help settle particulate matter, offering temporary respiratory relief.

The unsettled weather pattern extended beyond Delhi. The IMD also issued yellow and orange alerts for several districts across Punjab, Haryana and the Chandigarh region for Tuesday, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and hail. Reports indicated rain had been falling in several parts of both states since the early hours of the morning.