Highest Sept rain in 19 yrs clogs, inundates Capital

Posted by Daily Pioneer on September 2nd, 2021

The Wednesday rain was the highest single-day rainfall in September in 19 years. Weather stations in the city recorded 112.1 mm rainfall in 24 hours.

Waterlogging and traffic snarls were witnessed in many parts of the city, including the Minto Road railway underpass, while several low-lying areas submerged.

According to the Delhi Traffic Police and PWD officials, Minto Bridge, Janpath Road, surrounding areas of Lajpat Nagar Metro Station, Munirka, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Moolchand Bus Stand, Aurobindo Marg near the AIIMS flyover, surrounding areas of Jungpura Metro Station, Ring Road near Moolchand and Rohtak Road were among the places hit by waterlogging.

The Delhi Traffic Police took to the Twitter and informed commuters of traffic diversions. “Traffic movement on Minto Bridge has been closed due to waterlogging. Traffic diverted from CP towards Barakhamba and traffic coming from Kamla Market side diverted towards Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road,” traffic police said in a tweet.

“Zakhira underpass is closed due to waterlogging. Kindly take alternative from Anand Parbat/Roshanara Road. Obstruction in the carriageway from Dhaula Kuan towards 11 Murti due to heavy waterlogging. Traffic is moving in one lane,” the traffic police said on Twitter.

It said that traffic at Azad Market Subway towards Pratap Nagar has been obstructed due to waterlogging and appealed to commuters to avoid the stretch.

The intensity of rain was such that it reduced visibility on roads and the traffic department had to issue an advisory for commuters to put on the headlights of their vehicles.

“It is advisable to put your vehicle headlights on during the rainy season to increase visibility,” the traffic police said.

The PWD officials said waterlogging complaints were being addressed without delay.

“Due to high intensity rains waterlogging occurred at a number of locations in the city. Our field staff is on the ground to tackle waterlogging issues,” a senior PWD official said.

On an average, the capital gauges 125.1 mm precipitation in September every year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This means that Delhi recorded 90 percent of the monthly quota of rain on the first day of the month. Mahesh Palawat, Vice President, Skymet Weather, a private forecasting agency, said the monsoon pattern is changing due to climate change. “The number of rainy days has reduced over the last four to five years, and there has been an increase in extreme weather events,” he said.

“We have been recording short and intense bouts of rains, sometimes around 100 mm rainfall in just 24 hours. In the past, this much precipitation would occur over a period of 10 to 15 days,” he said.