Delhi logs surplus rains; IMD issues yellow alert for Sunday

Delhi has now recorded 286.7 mm of rainfall this month, with the total expected to cross 300mm in August by Monday

A series of short, but intense, bursts of rain disrupted weekend plans of residents across the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday, forcing people to scramble for cover nearly throughout Saturday, even as the weather office predicted that the wet spell will continue at least till Monday.

Rain at Kartavya Path on Saturday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Delhi initially had a yellow alert in place for Saturday, which was upgraded to an ‘orange’ alert at 3.42pm and further to a ‘red’ alert by 5.10pm, as bursts of rain were recorded across southeast, south, north, central and west Delhi, accompanied by winds of 30-40 km/hr. Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station for weather, recorded 2.6mm in the 24 hours till 8.30am, adding another 24.8mm in the next nine hours, data till 5.30pm showed. Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Palam had 16.5mm, Lodhi Road 27mm, Ridge 9.6mm, Pusa 13.5mm, Najafgarh 7.5mm and Rajghat 3.2mm, data showed. 

With this spell, Delhi has now recorded 286.7 mm of rainfall this month, with the total expected to cross 300mm in August by Monday. The normal monthly rainfall mark is 233.1mm, meaning the city has already logged surplus rains. The annual rainfall total, meanwhile, touched 850mm on Saturday, against the normal yearly mark of 774.4mm. August has already emerged as the wettest month, officials added. 

Meteorological experts said the monsoon trough has moved closer to Delhi – although it still remains south of the capital. Earlier, it was centred around Central India. “We can expect similar weather activity in Delhi-NCR on Sunday and Monday. Isolated pockets can see intense rain,” said an IMD official. 

A waterlogged stretch in South Delhi’s New Friends Colony on Saturday evening. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said, “The monsoon trough is around Gwalior and though not very close to Delhi, it is still providing sufficient moisture for short but intense spells. We will not see widespread rain, but isolated pockets will continue to record passing, intense showers.” He added that there will be a reduction in rain intensity from Tuesday. “After Tuesday, the trough should again move away, with patchy light rain returning,” he said. The IMD also said a wet August will continue with rain forecast every day till August 29. 

Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 35.1°C on Saturday, primarily due to a warm first half of the day. Overcast skies were seen after 2pm, with cool winds leading to a drop in temperature by 6-7°C at most places by 5.30pm, officials said. The minimum stood at 25.7°C, a degree below normal. For Sunday, the IMD has forecast a cooler day, with the maximum to be between 30-32°C and a minimum between 22-24°C. “Presently, one to two spells of light to moderate rain are likely on Sunday,” it added. 

Since May, Delhi has seen excess rainfall. May was the wettest on record with 186.4mm, over six times the normal average of 30.7mm. In June, the city recorded 107.1mm, an excess of 45% over the long-period average (LPA) of 74.1mm. July saw 259.3mm of rainfall, 24% more than the LPA of 209.7mm. 

Officials said localised waterlogging was seen in parts of the city, but traffic was not significantly impacted. The Delhi airport meanwhile reported over 250 flight delays through the day, data from the website FlightRadar24 showed, with an average delay time of 29 minutes. In a post on X, the Delhi airport said, “As per IMD’s forecast, Delhi is experiencing inclement weather conditions. However, all flight operations at Delhi are currently normal,” the airport said at 6:57 pm, asking passengers to contact their airlines for the latest updates. 

The rain meanwhile saw Delhi’s air quality return to the ‘satisfactory’ range. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 97 (satisfactory), compared to 102 (moderate) at the same time on Friday. Forecasts show the AQI is expected to remain satisfactory on Sunday as well. 

Excess rainfall has marked the season: May 2025 was Delhi’s wettest May on record with 186.4mm of rain, over six times the normal 30.7mm. June logged 107.1mm, 45% above the long-period average (LPA) of 74.1mm, while July saw 259.3mm, 24% above the LPA of 209.7mm.