Heavy rains and gusty winds that lashed Delhi and the neighbouring cities of Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad early this morning have thrown normal life out of gear for citizens. Commuters faced severe traffic jams, and reports of waterlogging poured in from various parts of the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rainfall over the next five days.
In the early hours, South West Delhi and surrounding areas like Vasant Vihar, Munirka, and RK Puram experienced light rain. However, Delhi traffic police reported major traffic disruptions on Rohtak Road, with waterlogging affecting both carriageways from Rajdhani Park towards Tikri Border and vice versa.
Commuters across the city complained about the inconvenience. South Delhi witnessed heavy traffic from Chhattarpur to Qutub Minar, while the Dwarka underpass heading towards Kapashera junction experienced significant congestion.
In another unfortunate incident, traffic came to a standstill near Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi after a tree fell due to heavy rain. Severe waterlogging was seen in the Mehrauli-Badarpur area and Mohan Nagar in Ghaziabad.
Frustrated local residents took to social media platform X, sharing unverified videos and photos of their morning commute. Videos of standstill traffic near Noida’s Amity International School, Sector 44, and heavy traffic congestion at Sector 50 went viral, depicting the struggles of commuters amidst the morning rush hour.
The IMD issued a weather bulletin at 7:29 am today, warning that Delhi-NCR was likely to experience gusty winds with speeds ranging from 50–70 kmph and moderate rain, occasionally intense, due to approaching clouds from North West Uttar Pradesh.
The bulletin urged residents to stay updated and safe, follow traffic advisories, stay indoors, close windows and doors, and avoid unnecessary travel. It specifically cautioned against taking shelter under trees and approaching electric poles.
Private weather forecasting agency Skymet also issued a warning, predicting intense rain for Delhi, Faridabad, Noida, and Gurugram in the next two hours. They attributed this change in weather patterns to the predominance of easterly winds over the Indo-Gangetic Plains, extending up to Delhi in the lower levels.
On X, Mahesh Palawat wrote, “Rain and thunder have covered many parts of west UP, east and north Haryana. Delhi, Faridabad, Noida and Gurugram may also witness intense spells during the next two hours. Take care, chances of traffic jams.”
Thursday saw the maximum temperature rise to 37.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above the season’s average, while the minimum temperature was at 27.8 degrees. With the current weather conditions, Delhi is expected to see more wet and windy days ahead.