New Delhi: Vehicles move slowly during traffic jam following heavy rain on Geeta Colony bridge
Delhi got respite from the scorching heat on Monday as all the cities of NCR received heavy rains in the early hours. However, the cool breeze and respite from the sun, to which Delhiites used to wake up, came with repercussions. Heavy traffic made commuting almost impossible for office-goers, and According to the data shared by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, strong winds uprooted trees at around 44 places. The mercury dropped to 18 degrees Celsius in many parts of the region, the lowest since 2004 for this time of year.
Here are 5 things that happened due to the weather in Delhi-NCR today:
- waterlogging and traffic: Due to heavy rain, There have been reports of water logging at many places in the capital of the country. – Including National Highway (NH)-48. Heavy traffic jams were witnessed in many areas as trees were uprooted. In Gurugram, the worst affected sections were Narsinghpur, Jharsa Crossing, Sector 29, Sector 38, Sector 50, Rajiv Chowk, Sheetla Mata Road, Civil Lines, Golf Course Extension Road, Vatika Chowk, Sector 52 and Daulatabad Flyover. DCP (Traffic) Ravinder Kumar Tomar said that at least 2,500 police personnel were deployed at key key points to manage the traffic.
- power cutThere were several incidents of power outages in the city due to strong winds during the storm, mainly due to falling trees and branches on overhead power lines and poles. Power cuts were reported from various parts of the city, including Shalimar Bagh, Keshav Puram, Moti Nagar, Bawana, Narela, Mustafabad, Najafgarh and Dwarka, for a few minutes to several hours, said officials of power distribution companies.
- delayed flightsFlight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport were also affected due to bad weather. According to the Delhi airport website, more than 40 departure flights were delayed due to bad weather and other related issues, while around 18 arrival flights were delayed at Delhi airport due to bad weather. Two flights were cancelled. Due to the weather conditions, many flights were diverted to Jaipur and other airports. Delhi airport sources said hundreds of passengers were stranded and due to unfavorable weather, the timings of all Delhi-bound flights have been rescheduled.
- drop in temperature: Even as the surface temperature dropped 11 degrees Celsius in the National Capital Region on Monday morning due to thunderstorms and rain, the minimum temperature in Delhi was nine notches below normal, the lowest since May 2004. The maximum temperature remained around 28.6. Delhi-NCR recorded 31.6 degrees Celsius, Safdarjung recorded 31.5 degrees Celsius, with a negative departure of eight degrees.
- work from home advice: The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Gurugram has issued an advisory to private institutions and corporate offices Guide your employees to work from home to avoid traffic congestion on the streets. “This will help the civic agencies to expedite dewatering and repair works,” read the orders.
What is likely to happen tomorrow, rest of the week:
The Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Tuesday and forecast partly cloudy sky with light rain or thundershower with gusting to 30-40 kmph. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 34 and 19 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.
According to the Meteorological Department, Thunderstorm accompanied with rain and thundershowers very likely (50-60 kmph) In Delhi-National Capital Region during the night. Similar weather will prevail over Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh during the next eight to 10 hours. “There is a lot of potential for hailstorms in these areas,” it said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that there is no possibility of severe heatwave in the national capital for at least the next six days.
What caused the rain?
The weather conditions in the morning were due to a Western Disturbance affecting Northwest India. Moderate to heavy rain accompanied by strong winds gusting up to 80 kmph.
According to the Meteorological Department, it was the first moderate-intensity storm of the season. The beginning of summer is considered to be from 1st March. “Normally, between March and May, there are thunderstorms for 12 to 14 days. But this season saw only four to five thunderstorms and that too mostly dry,” the department said. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and rain resulted in a drastic drop in surface temperatures.
(agencies input)