Heavy rain in Delhi leads to traffic snarls

A heavy downpour lashed the national capital and parts of its adjoining suburbs of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon on Friday resulting in waterlogging and traffic jams at several places.

A pleasant morning that saw light rain gave way to a sunny afternoon. However, the sky soon turned dark and heavy showers followed.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 6.2 mm of rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. affecting traffic, especially during the evening rush hour.

Water logging was reported from several parts of the city, including M.B. Road and Adhchini Marg in south Delhi, Preet Vihar, Lakshmi Nagar, Vasundhra Enclave in east Delhi and Tilak Marg in central Delhi, traffic police said, adding that traffic moved at crawling pace on many arterial roads.

Many two-wheeler riders took refuge under flyovers and foot-over-bridges which added to the woes of other motorists as their parked scooters and motorcycles blocked a sizeable portion of the road.

The downpour, however, did bring relief from the muggy weather.

Friday's maximum temperature settled at 34 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature settled at 27.8 degrees Celsius, slightly above the season's average. The day's maximum humidity was recorded at 88 percent.

The showers are likely to continue over the weekend, the Met office forecast.

"The weather will remain similar over the weekend and the city is likely to get more rain," said the IMD official.

The maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday will hover around 34 and 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Thursday's maximum temperature was recorded at 34.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average, while the minimum temperature was 27.8 degrees, slightly above the average for this time of the season.