Flooding, snarls continue as rain lashes for 2nd day
The monsoon rain continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday in the national capital, triggering waterlogging, and a repeat of the snarls and chaos on Monday. Light rain is likely to continue on Wednesday as well, the weather forecasters said, with patchy rain expected thereafter in some parts. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Safdarjung observatory, which is taken as representative of the city weather, between 8.30am and 5.30pm recorded 6.3mm rain.
On Monday, after a week of hot and humid conditions, Delhi received its first heavy spell of rainfall this monsoon, which reached the city on July 13 -- 16 days later than usual.
IMD officials said the continuous showers kept the temperatures -- the maximum touched 31.9°C and minimum settled at 24°C -- three degrees below the season’s normal.
“Light rain is likely to continue in Delhi and the surrounding region on Wednesday as well. Thereafter, patchy rain will continue in some parts of the city. The rainfall activity is likely to pick up again on July 23 and July 26 when moderate showers are expected,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, IMD’S head of regional weather forecasting centre.
He said though July is likely to
NEW DELHI:
see more rain, the Capital gets most of its yearly rainfall in August. “This is because the monsoon trough and easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, the two primary conditions for rainfall, are more favourable during that time for Delhi,” said Srivastava.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change), of private weather forecaster Skymet, said Delhi is likely to receive patchy and light rain on Wednesday as well. He said on Tuesday, Delhi had covered its rainfall deficit, which stood at 3% on Monday evening. “The high moisture content in the air will result in continued rain on Wednesday but the forecast says the intensity of showers will increase by July 23,” he said.
The moderate to heavy rainfall resulted in traffic jams on Tuesday, with motorists having to navigate through waterlogged roads. Delhi traffic police said traffic moved slow along several roads, including Sri Aurobindo Marg, Ring Road (near Moti Bagh, AIIMS and Defence Colony), Dwarka Road, Dhaula Kuan, Rao Tula Ram Marg and Rajouri Garden.
Many residential colonies also saw waterlogging including in Greater Kailash, Dwarka, Malviya Nagar, Dakshinpuri and Chhatarpur Enclave.
According to officials in the three MCDS, at least 23 trees across the city were uprooted in the downpour.