Rains lash Delhi, spell chaos on roads

New Delhi: Rains lashed Delhi on Wednesday, inundating low-lying areas and disrupting vehicular movement on key roads in the capital.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded 20.9 mm of rainfall between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, and a maximum temperature of 30.6 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal.

Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge, Ayanagar, Mungeshpur, Narela, Pitampura and Pusa logged 11.8 mm, 24.6 mm, 14.6 mm, 13.8 mm, 31.5 mm, 9.5 mm, 55.5 mm and 15.5 mm of precipitation, respectively.

Rainfall recorded below 15 mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate, between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm is heavy, between 115.6 and 204.4 is very heavy. Anything above 204.4 mm is considered extremely heavy rainfall.

The showers brought the familiar sight of snaking lines of vehicles stuck on waterlogged roads for interminable minutes. Strong winds snapped power and internet cables in some areas.

Another spell of rain is likely Friday onwards, weather officials said.

Delhi recorded over 20 mm of rainfall in April, the highest in the month since 2017, owing to back-to-back western disturbances.

May had a cool start, with the city gauging 14.8 mm of precipitation on Monday. The national capital's primary weather station, Safdarjung Observatory, recorded the maximum temperature at least 10 degrees below normal on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday owing to intermittent rainfall and cloudy weather under the influence of successive western disturbances.

The maximum temperature settled at 28.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday and dropped to 26.2 degrees Celsius on Monday, making it the second coldest day in the month in 13 years. The city recorded a maximum of 28.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Another western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India starting May 5. Under its influence, cloudy skies and sporadic rain is predicted in the capital until May 7, an IMD official said.

The maximum temperature is predicted to remain below 35 degrees Celsius until May 9.

According to the IMD, May is the hottest month in Delhi with a mean maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius.

The Met office has predicted below-normal maximum temperatures and fewer heatwave days in northwest India in May.