Red alert, heavy rain, flights disrupted in Delhi; yellow alert for Saturday

Heavy rain disrupted flight operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport Friday evening, causing at least nine flights to be diverted. Four each were re-routed to Jaipur and Lucknow and one to Ahmedabad. Areas outside the airport were briefly waterlogged.

The city remains under a red alert till 8 pm. The weather department has also issued a yellow alert for Delhi for Saturday; the forecast indicates one or two spells of light to moderate rain and thunderstorms from early morning to forenoon.

This could be followed by another spell from afternoon to evening. The maximum temperature is expected to remain between 29°C and 31°C and the minimum between 24°C and 26°C. In the morning and early afternoon rain had been limited to a few parts of Delhi only.

A heavier spell – with isolated heavy bursts of 50-100 mm – was expected from the evening. #WATCH | Delhi: Waterlogging witnessed at Indira Gandhi International Airport after heavy rainfall lashed the national capital.

pic.twitter.com/vejJpM2W2l By 3.45 pm Delhi's Safdarjung area had recorded 23 mm of rain, while the Pusa and Narayana neighbourhoods recorded 14 mm and 12 mm, respectively. The India Meteorological Department also warned of strong winds – 40-50 kmph with gusts up to 60 kmph – and bursts of lightning.

#WATCH | Delhi: Waterlogging in several parts of the National Capital following heavy rainfall. (Visuals from South Moti Bagh metro station) pic.twitter.com/xCmduw5Ijl And by 5.30 pm, Palam reported 75.6 mm of rain. Naraina in southwest Delhi recorded 54 mm, Janakpuri received 48.5 mm, Lodi Road 34.6 mm, and Safdarjung 32.6 mm.

Other stations – Chhatharpur, Ayanagar, Jharoda Khan – also reported light rain. The weather is being influenced by a well-marked low-pressure area over central-northern Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Uttar Pradesh, as well as a monsoonal trough passing through the region.

The low-pressure system is expected to remain nearly stationary for the next 48 hours. That will likely mean more rainfall for Delhi and the national capital region. In addition, IMD officials have also noted the presence of troughs extending across northren India, while a fresh western disturbance is affecting the upper-level weather pattern.

The maximum temperatures on these days are likely to rise to 33-35°C. Overall Delhi has received 509.8 mm of rainfall this monsoon.