Severe Storm Batters Delhi-NCR: Waterlogging and Flight Delays Reported Across Region

Severe Storm Batters Delhi-NCR: Heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds and thunderstorms lashed Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) early Sunday, bringing the city to a standstill. The downpour caused significant traffic disruptions, waterlogging, and flight delays. A police officer died after the roof of the Assistant Commissioner's office collapsed during the torrential rain.

More than 200 flights were affected due to a strong storm and heavy downpour at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Around 49 flights were diverted between 11:30 pm on Saturday to 4:00 am on Sunday, the airport authority said on Sunday.

The India Meteorological Department said the city's primary weather station recorded winds gusting up to 82 kmph and 81.2 mm of rain in six hours -- between Saturday 11.30 pm and 5.30 am on Sunday.

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In a post on X at 3:59 am, IndiGo said adverse weather conditions in Delhi led to temporary disruptions in flight operations.

"While the weather is gradually easing, some airside congestion remains. We assure you that flight movements are steadily resuming as conditions permit," the airline said.

At 5:54 am it said in an X post that flight operations are back to normal with clearer skies over Delhi.

Meanwhile, on the ground, visuals from several parts of Delhi painted a grim picture. A car was seen almost fully submerged at Minto Road — a chronic flooding hotspot. Similar scenes played out in Moti Bagh and near Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport, where ankle to knee-deep water disrupted traffic and left commuters stranded.

With this latest spell of rain — 81.2 mm recorded till 5:30 am — Delhi has already received 186.2 mm of rainfall this month, making it the wettest May on record. The previous record stood at 165 mm in May 2008, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

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The IMD had issued a red alert for the region on Saturday night, forecasting light to moderate rain accompanied by a severe thunderstorm, lightning, hail, and squally winds of 60–100 km/h. The alert was issued at 10:30 pm, warning of impacts over the next two hours. At 9:30 pm, an orange alert had been issued, with winds forecast to reach up to 70 km/h for a brief period.

Waterlogging was also reported at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that around 180 flights have been delayed and some cancelled at the airport.

In the city, several stretches, including Moti Bagh, Minto Road, ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Cantonment, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and Chanakyapuri, were partially submerged.

The IMD had earlier issued a red alert for Delhi and adjoining areas on Saturday, warning of thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong winds for the next few hours.

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