Trees fall, roads waterlogged as heavy rain continues to lash Delhi

HEavy rain down continued to thong new delhi on th morning time, even as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued multiple red alerts for more rainfall throughout the day amid reports of fallen trees and waterlogged roads. Heavy rain in the Capital a day earlier triggered waterlogging and traffic snarls.Khajuri recorded the highest rainfall at 160mm between 8:30am (Wednesday) and 8:30am (Thursday), followed by Mayur Vihar (102.5mm), Delhi University (90mm), Mehrauli (86mm), Pusa (83mm), Lodi Road (80.2mm), and Ridge 77.8mm. Safdarjung, the city’s base station for weather, recorded 72.6mm of rainfall during the same period. Most places received a large portion of rainfall between 2:30am to 5:30am on Thursday. Track July 9 Delhi-NCR rain updates hereRainfall up to 15.5mm is classified as light, 15.6mm to 64.4 mm as moderate, 64.5mm and 115.5mm as heavy, and 115.6 to 204.4 as very heavy. The normal rainfall for July is 209.7mm. So far, Delhi has received almost half of it (104.12mm) this month until Thursday.Amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya has forecast “a massive rainfall event” (100mm to 200mm) until Friday due to a low-pressure area. In a post on X, he said consistent light to moderate showers will occur with frequent spells of heavy downpours. He added that Noida, Ghaziabad, north and east Delhi will be most affected by consistent heavy rains.Dahiya wrote that fresh 200mm rains are possible. He added that central, west, south Delhi, Faridabad could receive 100 to 150mm and Gurugram between 70 and 150mm. Dahiya warned against being outdoors unless necessary. He added that there are high chances of waterlogging.Residents reported waterlogging and fallen trees due to the rain on social media. Two trees fell on Raja Dhir Sen Marg. “A tree fell due to concretisation. Now traffic is blocked, and even school buses are not able to move,” said a resident. Visuals showed uprooted trees, with one of them breaking apart the road as it fell over.Visuals showed vehicles and people wading through multiple flooded roads on Thursday morning. Waterlogging was reported from Akshardham, Sadar Bazar, Kaushambi, the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, and Sangam Vihar.The Delhi government said the waterlogging situation on all major roads was under control. It added chief minister Rekha Gupta has taken stock of the situation and teams from the Jal Board, Public Works Department, and Municipal Corporation are on the ground, ready to handle any situation. The government said it is working on a war footing to tackle waterlogging, and all necessary measures are being taken.The air quality has steadily improved due to the continuous rain this week. On Wednesday, Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 59 (satisfactory), the best since September 4 last year, when it was 58. On Thursday (10:05am), the AQI improved to the “good” category at 49.