Sunny Monday afternoon in Delhi, rains to return Tuesday

After a cloudy morning that saw intermittent rain, Delhi had a sunny and pleasant Monday afternoon as the maximum temperature settled nine notches below average at 30.3 degrees Celsius. The Met office has forecast more rains Tuesday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 58.5 mm of rain from 8.30 p.m. Sunday to 8.30 a.m. Monday and the minimum temperature plunged five notches below average for this time of the year to 23.5 degrees Celsius.

With the capital witnessing heavy showers over the weekend and major roads getting waterlogged due to poor drainage, the situation worsened Monday morning as office goers got stuck in jams.

Traffic signals failed in several parts and numerous streets turned into near rivulets, resulting in traffic slowing down to a crawl at many places.

Slow traffic movement was witnessed at Subroto Park and Panchsheel Park in south Delhi and Anand Parbat in north Delhi as also along the Outer Ring Road, which connects several key areas.

"It took me half-an-hour more than the usual time. Traffic is painfully slow. Even a little rain means traffic woes for us," said Kumar Biswas, a software professional who was on his way from Gurgaon to Delhi.

The Indira Gandhi Airport (IGI) airport also faced flooding Sunday because of continuous rain, forcing passengers to wade through knee-deep water.

"We have taken additional measures to ensure that there is no flooding around the baggage belt area like yesterday (Sunday)," a Delhi International Airport Limited spokesperson told IANS.

The monsoon reached Delhi Sunday, a fortnight ahead of schedule, and also covered the entire country.

Meanwhile, there seems to be no respite in sight as the IMD has forecast more rains Tuesday.

"Parts of the city will receive showers tomorrow (Tuesday) it could be heavy in some areas," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 31 and 24 degrees Celsius.

Sunday's maximum temperature dipped eight notches below average at 31.5 degrees Celsius, while the minimum settled four notches below average at 23.7 degrees Celsius.