Heavy rain disrupts life across north India; Delhi flights, traffic hit

Heavy rainfall disrupted life across northern India on Friday, causing waterlogging, traffic snarls and flight disruptions in Delhi-NCR. Flooding affected parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while Himachal Pradesh reported road closures. Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana also received heavy showers

New Delhi: Parts of northern India witnessed heavy rainfall on Friday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting light to moderate showers over the next few days. In the NCR region, several roads in Delhi and Gurugram were inundated, leading to traffic snarls at prominent places. In the national capital, heavy waterlogging near the Indira Gandhi International Airport disrupted flight operations, leaving commuters navigating inundated stretches around terminals.

IndiGo Airlines issued an advisory, stating that “bad weather” over Delhi had impacted domestic flight schedules. “We are closely monitoring the weather and doing our best to get you where you need to be, safely and smoothly,” it said on X.

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Connaught Place and parts of Lutyens’ Delhi were also affected by rainfall. In the neighbouring Gurugram, Cyber City commercial hub, Shankar Chowk and Sheetla Mata Road witnessed heavy waterlogging following the downpour.

In Uttar Pradesh, where at least one-third of districts are affected by floods, Sultanpur recorded the highest rainfall at 16.4 mm, followed by Gorakhpur at 10.4 mm. Aligarh received 9.4 mm, while Shahjahanpur recorded 8.6 mm.

The regional meteorological department has predicted more rainfall and thunderstorms across Uttar Pradesh. According to IMD, western Uttar Pradesh is likely to witness more rain and thundershowers, while rainfall activity is expected to be comparatively scattered in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The forecast comes amid an ongoing flood situation in the state, with around 3.53 lakh people in 26 districts affected, according to the relief commissioner’s office. The state government has deployed 1,634 flood outposts, 1,697 boats and motorboats and 1,068 medical teams in the affected areas. A total of 1,312 flood shelters have also been set up.

According to officials, major rivers are running in spate, with the Ganga crossing the warning level in Varanasi and flowing above the danger level, along with the Ghaghra in Ballia. In Himachal, a total of 102 roads were closed after rainfall, with the MeT Office issuing a yellow alert, warning of further heavy rains in isolated areas of the state on Saturday.

Out of the 102 roads closed, the maximum number of roads are blocked in Mandi district (46), followed by Kullu (22), Sirmaur (11), Kangra (8), Una (4), Chamba, Shimla and Solan (3 each), and Lahaul-Spiti and Bilaspur (1 each), according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). Punjab and Haryana also received moderate rains, bringing down temperatures in many places.

The maximum temperature in Chandigarh settled at 31 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal limits. In Haryana, Ambala, Narnaul, Panchkula, Karnal, and Yamunanagar were among other places that received rain.

In Punjab, places like Amritsar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Pathankot, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar received heavy rain.

In Rajasthan, heavy to very heavy rainfall was recorded at isolated places, with Khandar in Sawai Madhopur receiving the highest rainfall of 130 mm in the past 24 hours ending on Friday morning.

Light to moderate rainfall was also recorded in Alwar, Bharatpur, Deeg, Dausa, Dholpur, Jaipur, Sikar, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Karauli, Tonk, Baran, Kota and Jhalawar districts.

Western Rajasthan remained largely dry during the period, according to the Meteorological Centre, Jaipur. The MeT office said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in eastern and southeastern Rajasthan on Friday and Saturday.

In Bihar, five districts have been experiencing a flood-like situation as several rivers flowed above their danger marks following incessant rainfall in the upper riparian nation of Nepal and in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. With the swelled Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Punpun and Ghaghra rivers inundating several places, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas on Friday and reviewed relief and rescue operations.

Several low-lying areas of Patna, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Khagaria, Purnea, Madhepura, Saharsa and Katihar districts witnessed a flood-like situation on Friday. No casualties have been reported yet, and people residing in the river floodplains have been moved to safety, an official said. According to the Water Resources Department, almost all rivers have been showing a rising trend.