NEW DELHI, India – On Wednesday morning, there were widespread light to moderate showers in the National Capital. This caused major waterlogging in several locations for the second day in a row and heavy traffic during rush hour. Even though these problems happened, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that the weather would stay the same on Thursday, with mild to moderate rain expected over the city. From Friday on, the rain is anticipated to get much lighter, with scattered light showers expected to last until Sunday. There are no color-coded alerts for Thursday.
Safdarjung, Delhi’s main meteorological station, recorded 14.4mm of rain in the 24 hours before 8:30 AM on Wednesday. Different regions of the city saw different amounts of rain. For example, Lodhi Road got 20.6mm, Palam got 1.9mm, Ridge got 32.8mm, Pragati Maidan got 38.9mm, Pusa got 23.5mm, Najafgarh got 13mm, and Janakpuri got 18.5mm. Around noon, there was also some light rain.
Safdarjung had 9.3mm of rain between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM, bringing its total monthly rainfall to more than 150mm. The station has had 151.2mm of rain so far this month, which is getting closer to its monthly long-term average of 209.7mm. In July 2024, Safdarjung had 203.7mm of rain, while in July 2023, it got a lot more: 384.6mm.
An official from the IMD said, “There is a lot of moisture in the air.” On Thursday, there will be light to moderate rain, but the rain will get lighter on Friday.
Despite the rain, it was a comfortable 30.8°C in Delhi on Wednesday, which is four degrees lower than average for this time of year. The lowest temperature was 25.6°C. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for Delhi was 67, which meant that the air quality was still “satisfactory.”
Waterlogging and problems with infrastructure that make things hard
Heavy rain caused waterlogging in several parts of the city, making it impossible for people to go around. By 10 AM, the Public Works Department (PWD) had received about 15 complaints about waterlogging in places like Keshavpuram, Seelampur, Anand Parbat Road, and Vinod Nagar. There was also a lot of flooding under the Zakhira overpass and in portions of Karkardooma and Pitampura, which caused big traffic jams during the morning rush. This time, Minto Bridge, which is always a problem for flooding, was not damaged.
Around New Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, where low-lying areas witnessed knee-deep water build up, things were especially bad. Waterlogging also affected areas of Najafgarh and Rohtak Road, as well as MB Road near Sainik Farm and Saket metro station. There was a lot of traffic on both sides of Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar station and Press Enclave Road. Mathura Road, Lala Lajpat Marg, GT Karnal Road, and GTB Road also saw some waterlogging.
Videos that were shared on social media showed how bad things were. AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj posted a video of a person in an inflatable boat in Patparganj and another video of a person swimming in water in West Vinod Nagar. After the rains, part of the road on Joginder Singh Marg in Janakpuri apparently fell apart, therefore the area had to be blocked off.
A worrying video from Nagar Nigam Balika Vidyalaya, an MCD school, also showed a classroom full of knee-high water while pupils sat on desks and benches. Parents and pupils were observed wading through water that was up to their waists outside the building. Atishi, the leader of the AAP, posted this video to ask if the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was ready for the monsoon. The Hindustan Times wrote about difficulties with waterlogging outside the same school last year, so the flooding isn’t a new problem.
Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva spoke out against the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) criticism, however the MCD and the school did not say anything about the recent event. Sachdeva said that the government’s work this season had mostly kept many locations that used to flood from doing so again.
“Cleanest July” Claim Despite Rain Problems
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that despite the problems caused by waterlogging, Delhi is on track to have its “cleanest July” ever in terms of air quality, with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 67 so far this month. Sirsa pointed out that Delhi has already had 118 days of “good to moderate” AQI in 2025, which is almost as many as the 120 such days that were reported in all of 2024. The minister said, “This is not a seasonal blip; it is the result of a multi-agency implementation model and a clear commitment to outcome-based governance.” He said that the improvement was due to ongoing efforts to manage pollution.