New Delhi, 05 August (H.S.): Intermittent rainfall across Delhi-NCR since Wednesday morning brought much-needed relief from the prevailing humid weather, even as waterlogging in several areas disrupted traffic and caused inconvenience to commuters. Roads in Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Dakshinpuri and several other localities were inundated following the showers.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange Alert for parts of southwest, west and northwest Delhi, forecasting thunderstorms, gusty winds and moderate to heavy rainfall. Light to moderate rain was recorded in several parts of the national capital, including Karawal Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Seemapuri, Buddha Jayanti Park, Delhi Cantonment, India Gate, Safdarjung, Lodhi Road, Nehru Stadium, R.K. Puram, Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar, Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, Kalkaji and Tughlakabad.

According to the IMD, Ayanagar recorded the highest rainfall of 49.3 mm between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Chhatarpur received 24 mm of rainfall, followed by Safdarjung with 15.4 mm, Palam with 8.3 mm, Lodhi Road with 3.9 mm and the Ridge area with 3 mm.

The rainfall made the weather pleasant across the National Capital Region and led to a drop in temperatures. During the past 24 hours, the maximum temperature settled at 33 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 27 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the seasonal average.

The weather department has forecast generally cloudy skies on August 6, with light to moderate rainfall at many places and heavy showers at isolated locations. Similar conditions are expected on August 7, with multiple spells of light to moderate rain, heavy rainfall in some areas and the possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning. On August 8, the IMD has predicted generally cloudy skies with isolated light rainfall.

The IMD has also forecast widespread heavy rainfall across several parts of the country over the next week. According to the department, several states in eastern and northeastern India are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rainfall expected over Meghalaya. Kerala and Karnataka are also likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places over the next four days.

The IMD has cautioned that heavy rainfall could lead to waterlogging in low-lying areas, traffic disruptions, uprooting of trees, power outages, and possible disruptions to rail and air services.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar