Light rainfall marks I-Day in Delhi as city crosses annual rainfall record since 2021

Delhi rains

Delhi woke up to light rain on Friday morning as the country celebrates its 79th Independence Day. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate showers, along with occasional thunderstorms and lightning, throughout the day.  The maximum temperature is likely to stay between 31 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius, while the minimum may range from 23 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius, Business Standard reported.

The city’s rainy spell comes on the heels of Thursday’s downpour, which turned out to be the fifth heaviest of the year. The heavy rain uprooted trees, caused massive traffic jams, and delayed over 350 flights at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Many passengers and even flight crew struggled to reach the airport due to gridlocks on major roads, and several people missed their flights, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

Among the worst-hit areas was the Dhaula Kuan–Gurugram road, where a Delhi Transport Corporation bus and several cars were stuck in waist-deep water. Two-wheeler riders were seen dismounting to push their vehicles across submerged stretches.

Similar gridlock and flooding were reported from Subroto Park, Dwarka Sector 20, Basai Road in Gurugram, and pockets of Ghaziabad and Noida. The Public Works Department’s flood control room received over 50 waterlogging complaints during the day.

By 5.30 pm on Thursday, Delhi had recorded 254.8 mm of rainfall for August, already exceeding the monthly normal of 233.1 mm. The city also crossed its annual rainfall mark of 774.4 mm, reaching 818.1 mm this year, the fastest it has done so since 2021.

Rains expected till August 20
The IMD’s weekly forecast suggests that Delhi will continue to see generally cloudy skies with spells of light rain or thunderstorms in the morning and early afternoon, followed by another possible spell in the evening or night. This weather pattern is expected to last until August 20.

No weather alerts have been issued for Delhi in the coming week, but the capital’s Safdarjung weather station has already logged significant rainfall. In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am Thursday, the station recorded 13.1 mm of rain, followed by 79.4 mm more over the next nine hours.

On Friday morning at 7 am, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 67, which falls in the ‘satisfactory’ category. This is a marked improvement from the AQI of 90 recorded on August 14. In the surrounding NCR region, most cities also reported cleaner air, Noida at 88, Gurugram at 104, Greater Noida at 136, and Ghaziabad at 102.

Heavy rain warnings for neighbouring statesIn western Uttar Pradesh, an orange alert has been issued for very heavy rainfall in Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, and Bijnor. Uttarakhand is bracing for extremely heavy rainfall in some areas, and Himachal Pradesh is also expected to see heavy to very heavy showers. Parts of Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana are likely to receive heavy rainfall as well, according to the Business Standard reported.