Rains bring mercury down as Delhi grapples with traffic congestion

Rains lashed the national capital overnight, affecting traffic movement and bringing the mercury down on Friday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the Safdarjung Observatory, which provided representative figures for Delhi, recorded 20.4 mm rainfall till 8:30 am.

The weather station at Palam gauged 15.3 mm rainfall, Lodhi Road recorded 20.6 mm, Ayanagar 19.1 mm and Ridge 18.6 mm, it added.

The rains led to waterlogging in several areas, which affected traffic movement in the morning hours.

Traffic congestion was reported from several areas as vehicles moved bumper to bumper.

Rains over the last two days have brought the mercury down. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius on Friday morning. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 22 degrees Celsius.

More rains are likely during the day, along with a hailstorm, at isolated places, the IMD said.

Winds gusting up to 40-50 kilometres per hour are predicted to sweep across the region.

Rains and strong winds over the last two days have improved the city's air quality. At 9:45 am, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 69, which falls in the satisfactory category.