Incessant rain over the last few days has left several parts of north India including the National Capital Region (NCR) waterlogged and inundated. While immense crop loss and deaths have been reported in Uttar Pradesh, NCR including Delhi and Noida has been experiencing urban flooding with traffic bringing the cities to a halt and schools, offices remaining shut.
Why is it raining in Delhi NCR now?
Delhi received 74 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Sunday, the second highest precipitation on a day in October since 2007, according to the India Meteorological Department data.
The current rains in Delhi are not monsoon showers, which had receded from the city on September 29 after giving 516.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 653.6 mm, the IMD said.
According to the Met department, the interaction of a western disturbance, which lies as a trough in mid and upper air, with a deep trough of easterly wind at a lower level led to the post-monsoon rain in the Delhi-NCR region.
Traffic, waterlogging woes in Delhi
Traffic snarls were reported from different parts of the national capital on Saturday as rain lashed the city. The Delhi Traffic Police has advised commuters to plan their journey accordingly. Waterlogging has also been reported from several parts of the city.
Several traffic-impacting incidents such as waterlogging, development of potholes, etc. have been reported across Delhi. These resulted in traffic bottlenecks, slow-moving traffic and consequent traffic congestion calls. The commuters also took to Twitter to post updates regarding traffic congestion in parts of the city.
The city also experienced urban floods with many residential areas reporting flooding of basements and low lying homes.
Schools shut in Noida
https://www.outlookindia.com/national/heavy-rains-all-noida-schools-to-stay-close-on-monday-news-228729/amphttps://www.outlookindia.com/national/heavy-rains-all-noida-schools-to-stay-close-on-monday-news-228729/amp and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar remained closed on Monday on account of excessive rainfall. The closure is applicable for all classes up to 12th and to all schools across boards, the order stated.
Continuous rain brought down temperature in Gautam Buddh Nagar over the weekend by almost 10 degrees, with the district receiving 25 mm rainfall till Sunday morning, according to IMD figures.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued orange alert regarding heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightening for western Uttar Pradesh areas on Sunday and asked authorities to stay alert for Monday as well.
9 Dead in UP
Heavy rains lashed several parts of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, claiming at least nine lives and throwing common life out of gear. Authorities of a dozen districts, including Lucknow, Aligarh, Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Ghaziabad, ordered the closure of schools on Monday in the wake of heavy rains. In Aligarh, all schools up to class 12 will remain closed till October 12, officials said
As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), the state recorded an average of 22.5 mm rainfall on Sunday, which is 2396 per cent more than the 'long period average' (LPA) for the day. Since October 1, the state has recorded 92.3 mm of rainfall which is 500 percent more than the LPA of 14.4mm.
IMD officials have issued forecast of more rains across the state in the next 24 hours.
(With inputs from PTI)
