NEW DELHI: A fierce overnight thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy rainfall, caused significant disruption across Delhi, impacting air travel, road traffic, and public infrastructure.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), wind speeds reached up to 82 km/h, and 81.2 mm of rain fell in just six hours between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am.
At Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, flight operations were severely affected. Airport officials reported that 49 flights were diverted between 11:30 pm and 4:00 am due to the adverse weather.
IndiGo Airlines, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) at 3:59 am, acknowledged “temporary disruptions in flight operations” but said conditions were improving. By 5:54 am, IndiGo confirmed that flight activity had resumed, though data from Flightradar24.com indicated continued delays and cancellations, with average departure delays exceeding 30 minutes.
Waterlogging and Traffic Chaos
Several major roads across the capital were inundated, leading to heavy traffic congestion and stranded vehicles. Areas such as Moti Bagh, Minto Road, Delhi Cantonment, and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg were among the most affected.
Footage from Delhi Cantt showed a bus and a car submerged in a flooded underpass, highlighting the intensity of the deluge. Other areas hit by severe waterlogging included ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Subroto Park, Nanakpura Underpass, and Chanakyapuri.
In anticipation of the severe weather, the IMD had issued a red alert on Saturday for Delhi and surrounding regions, warning of thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and strong winds in the coming hours.
