Delhi: 15 flights diverted from IGI airport as heavy rain, thunderstorms lash capital

At least 15 flights were diverted from Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday after heavy rain and thunderstorms swept across Delhi, disrupting air traffic and causing waterlogging in several parts of the national capital, sources said.

The downpour brought relief from the high humidity recorded in the city a day earlier, but also led to waterlogging in several residential and other areas.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red and orange alerts for parts of Delhi, forecasting moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.

Rainfall of between 18 mm and 28 mm was recorded in different parts of the city by 11.30 am, with Chhatarpur in south Delhi recording the highest rainfall during the period.

Heavy rain was forecast in South East, East, Shahdara, Central, North East, South, New Delhi and North Delhi, among other areas. Isolated heavy showers were also expected in South West, West and North West Delhi.

246.2 mm rain recorded this month

Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 246.2 mm of rainfall over 12 rainy days as of August 24, taking the month’s cumulative rainfall above its long-period average of 226.8 mm.

Safdarjung officially crossed the August average on August 14. An earlier assessment had suggested the threshold was crossed on August 8, but an error in the rainfall data recorded on August 6 was subsequently corrected, bringing the cumulative figure down to 197.2 mm and pushing the official crossover to mid-August.

The wettest spell of the month so far was recorded on August 8, when Safdarjung received 98.7 mm of rain in 24 hours.

Several weather stations record rain

In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Monday, Janakpuri recorded 29 mm of rainfall, followed by Narayana at 22 mm.

Pusa recorded 11.5 mm, Palam 10.6 mm and Safdarjung 3.4 mm. Lodi Road recorded 2.7 mm, while Ridge, Ayanagar and Jharoda Kalan received 0.8 mm, 0.6 mm and 0.5 mm respectively.

No rainfall was recorded at Chhatarpur and Pushp Vihar during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am, while data was unavailable for Mayur Vihar, Jafarpur and Najafgarh.

Despite crossing the August average, Delhi’s rainfall total this month remains significantly below the exceptionally high rainfall recorded in the previous two years. The city received 400.8 mm in August 2025 and 390.3 mm in August 2024.

The IMD has forecast continued wet conditions in parts of the capital, with thunderstorms and strong winds accompanying the rain.