Intense Rain Batters Delhi-NCR, IMD Warns Of More Showers In Coming Days

Last Updated:July 23, 2025, 09:33 IST

Delhi and parts of the NCR saw another rainy morning on Wednesday, with light to moderate showers. IMD forecasts rain to continue through the week

So far this July, Delhi has received 136.3 mm of rainfall, well short of the monthly normal of 209.7 mm. (Photo: PTI file)

Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to yet another rainy morning on Wednesday, July 23, as light to moderate showers lashed the city for the second consecutive day, causing widespread waterlogging and traffic disruptions in several areas.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the rain is likely to continue through the week. “There is a possibility of light to moderate rain on Wednesday, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds. From Thursday, we will mainly see scattered very light to light rain," an IMD official said.

Traffic jams were reported in several areas, including South Delhi, ITO, and the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road.

The short but intense spell of rain on Tuesday, July 22, had already led to severe waterlogging across key areas including Press Enclave Road, both carriageways of Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar metro station, and arterial stretches of MB Road near Sainik Farms, Saket Metro Station, Mathura Road near Ashram, Rohtak Road, Aurobindo Marg near IIT Delhi, and Najafgarh. Even stretches such as Lala Lajpat Rai Marg from Kalkaji, GT Karnal Road between Mukarba Chowk and Azadpur, and Guru Teg Bahadur Road saw waterlogging, although water drained within half an hour in some places, officials said.

The area near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport also saw heavy rainfall, but flight operations remained unaffected.

According to IMD data, Delhi’s base weather station at Safdarjung recorded 8.8 mm of rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Tuesday. Ridge in north Delhi saw the highest at 22.4 mm during the same period. Other areas reported the following rainfall: 22.2 mm at Rajghat, 14.2 mm at Lodhi Road, 13.5 mm in Pusa, 11 mm in Najafgarh, 1.5 mm in Ayanagar, and 0.5 mm in Palam. In the 24-hour period ending 8:30 am Wednesday, Ridge had logged a total of 64.8 mm.

The maximum temperature on Tuesday was 32.6°C at Safdarjung, which was 2.3 degrees below normal, while the minimum stood at 26°C, a degree below normal. Relative humidity fluctuated between 83 and 100 per cent. Winds remained mostly calm with gusts reaching up to 30 km/h.

So far this July, Delhi has received 136.3 mm of rainfall—well short of the monthly normal of 209.7 mm. The IMD classifies “light" rainfall as up to 15.5 mm, “moderate" as 15.6 to 64.4 mm, and “heavy" as anything above 64.4 mm in 24 hours. While the capital has seen frequent rain spells this month, none have qualified as “heavy" so far.

Commuters bore the brunt of the disruptions. The downpour on Tuesday brought traffic to a crawl on major roads such as NH-8, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, ITO, and Lutyens’ Delhi. Parts of Janpath were waterlogged, with water entering roadside shops. Long traffic snarls were reported along the Mehrauli-Badarpur and Delhi-Ghaziabad corridors, with delays of over an hour in some places. From Nangloi to Najafgarh, traffic movement was severely affected. Social media was flooded with images and complaints of clogged roads and submerged footpaths.

As rains triggered urban flooding, politics over Delhi’s civic management took centre stage. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi government, calling the waterlogging a failure of the “four-engine government".

“Just a 10-minute spell of rain on Tuesday brought Delhi to a standstill. Roads were flooded, traffic was paralysed, and chaos reigned everywhere—despite BJP controlling all key agencies: NDMC, DDA, PWD, and MCD. When BJP’s all four engines are junk, the vehicle doesn’t move four times faster—it consumes four times the fuel and makes four times the noise," the AAP said in a statement.

In response, Delhi’s urban development minister Ashish Sood hit back: “Our CM goes from ITO to Barapullah to take corrective action. Their CM did not even come to Delhi secretariat. Their PWD minister went to jail for scams. Our PWD minister is working on-ground to tackle waterlogging. Is this waterlogging only due to our four-month-old government? We have been raising questions about the PWD scams by the previous government in desilting of drains. Waterlogging is a result of 10 years of corruption and neglect by the AAP government."

Meanwhile, the capital’s air quality saw some respite thanks to the showers. According to the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the AQI stood at 88 (satisfactory) at 4 pm Tuesday, improving from 93 the previous day. The outlook suggests air quality will remain in the “satisfactory" range till Friday, with a likely shift to “moderate" thereafter.

The IMD attributes the prevailing weather conditions to a monsoon trough currently hovering near the Himalayan foothills, which may keep the capital’s skies overcast with on-and-off spells of rain for the rest of the week.

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