Heavy rains paralyse Delhi, cancel 26 flights and snarl traffic across NCR

Delhi Airport operations took a severe hit on Monday with 380 flights delayed and 26 cancelled as heavy rains lashed the capital and surrounding regions through the morning hours. Flight Operations Disrupted Major carriers including SpiceJet, Air India, and IndiGo issued advisories warning passengers that bad weather could affect subsequent flights as well, urging travellers to check their flight status before leaving home. The disruptions came as the India Meteorological Department issued a red alert for heavy rain in several areas and a yellow alert for moderate rainfall across Delhi-NCR. Severe Waterlogging Paralyses Roads The brief but intense downpour brought the national capital region to a standstill within hours, with widespread waterlogging and traffic snarls affecting commuters across Delhi, Noida, and Gurugram. MB Road near Sangam Vihar witnessed massive traffic jams, while vehicles crawled between Vasant Kunj and Sangam Vihar with commuters stuck for nearly an hour. The gridlock impacted those heading to Delhi Airport, offices, and Saket Court. In Noida, National Highway 9 near the Hindan river at Chhijarsi Cut saw heavy congestion during the rainfall. Gurugram faced particularly acute problems, with two to three feet of water accumulating on roads after just a short spell of rain, completely paralyzing traffic movement. Multi-kilometre queues of vehicles formed on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, Sohna Road, Old Delhi Road, and Railway Road. Motorists remained trapped for about an hour near the Rajiv Chowk underpass and flyover. Weather Warnings Continue The Met Department forecast light to moderate rain across Delhi-NCR for the next two hours, with thunderstorms, lightning, and winds blowing at 30-40 kilometres per hour expected. The weather warning extended to entire Delhi and NCR, along with Jhajjar, Farrukhabad, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad in Haryana, and Bhiwadi, Tijara, Khairtal, Kotputli, and Alwar in Rajasthan, where light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning could persist.

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A recent thermal infrared image captured by the India Meteorological Department and ISRO's INSAT-3D satellite has revealed a massive build-up of monsoon clouds over large parts of the country. The satellite picture shows a thick blanket of dense, bright clouds covering central India, the Gangetic plains, and eastern states, indicating deep convection processes that can trigger heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Weather experts say this pattern results from the interaction between low-pressure areas and monsoon currents, though the intensity and spread of the monsoon are no longer uniform across the nation.

The thick band of clouds visible in the satellite imagery stretches from central India through Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and the northeastern states, with significant cloud activity also seen over Madhya Pradesh and surrounding areas. The eastern half of the country can expect multiple rounds of moderate to heavy rain through the first two weeks of September, with localised intense showers wherever low-pressure systems become active. This raises the risk of flooding or waterlogging in districts where soil is already saturated.

The monsoon is no longer uniformly active across India. While rain is expected to continue in the eastern regions, large parts of northwest, western, and southern India may remain relatively dry, an imbalance that could result from climate change and shifting seasonal wind patterns. River levels may rise in the east while farmers in the west and south face drought concerns. This trend is expected to persist for the next few days, impacting agriculture, water management, and urban life differently across regions.

For the National Capital Region, scattered rain is forecast, with afternoon or evening showers and thunderstorms possible due to local cloud formation and convection activity. These rains are highly localised, meaning one area may see heavy downpours while nearby zones experience only overcast skies. Residents of Delhi-NCR are advised to monitor weather updates and avoid waterlogged areas.