Rain lashes Delhi, hits traffic

Delhi received a welcome spell of rain today which brought some relief from an extended dry patch amidst sweltering heat in the national capital that had seen day temperatures soaring close to the 40-degree mark.
According to the MeT department, the national capital received 6.8mm rainfall between 8 A.M. And 5:30 P.M.
Although the mercury remained well above normal levels, the showers made for pleasant conditions and lifted the spirits of Delhiites who, however, had to contend with the perennial problem of water-logging due to rain.
There were massive traffic jams during evening rush hour on the main arterial roads as a result of the water logging.

The rain, which started at around 2:30 P.M. And lasted for around an hour, threw traffic out of gear in many areas, which could only be normalised by around 7 P.M.
Despite the rain, the maximum temperature settled three notches above the normal at 37.2 degrees Celsius, which was a notch below yesterday's 38.2 degrees.

The minimum was recorded at 28.4 degrees, two notches above normal and slightly higher than the 27.5 degrees yesterday. A MeT official said that humidity in air oscillated between 57 and 77 per cent.
The weatherman has predicted generally cloudy skies for tomorrow with the likelihood of rain and thundershowers in some parts of Delhi-NCR. The maximum and minimum are expected to be around 36 and 27 degrees, respectively.

Meanwhile, talking about the traffic situation following the showers today, traffic police said that vehicular movement was heavy on the main roads like ITO, Outer Circle of Connaught Place, Minto Road, Kamla Market roundabout, KG Marg, Ashoka Road W-point, Mathura Road towards Supreme Court, Bhagwan Dass Road and Chhatta Rail.
Traffic snarls also occurred at Boulevard Road ISBT, Rajpur Road near Tirath Ram Hospital, under Kashmiri Gate Metro Station, RK Ashram Marg Metro Station and Sadar Bazar Thana road, under Modi Mill flyover, AnandMai Marg and Outer Ring Road towards Modi Mill flyover, they added.