IMD issues red alert for Delhi as thunderstorms, heavy rain lashes city

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a red alert for all districts of Delhi and several districts of Haryana, forecasting thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and heavy rainfall over the next two to three hours.

According to the IMD’s latest nowcast, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, gusty winds of around 60 kmph and heavy rainfall exceeding 15 mm per hour are very likely in the affected areas.

The weather department placed Central Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, Shahdara, South Delhi, South East Delhi, South West Delhi and West Delhi under the red warning.

Private forecaster warns of major rainfall

Independent weather forecaster Navdeep Dahiya also predicted a major rainfall event across Delhi NCR over the next 24 hours. In a post on X, he said the next 12 hours until late evening would be the most critical period.

According to Dahiya, Delhi NCR is likely to witness continuous light to moderate rain with frequent spells of heavy downpours due to its position in the western quadrant of a low-pressure area.

He said east NCR, including Noida, Ghaziabad, north Delhi and east Delhi, could be the worst affected, with fresh rainfall of up to 200 mm possible. Central, west and south Delhi, along with Faridabad, may receive between 100 mm and 150 mm of rain, while Gurugram could record 70 mm to 150 mm.

East-central Haryana and Chandigarh may receive between 40 mm and 100 mm of rainfall.

Dahiya advised people to avoid going outdoors unless absolutely necessary, warning of a high risk of waterlogging across most parts of Delhi NCR, particularly in east NCR and adjoining areas of Delhi.

Red alert for parts of Haryana

The IMD also issued a red warning for Faridabad, Karnal, Palwal, Panchkula, Panipat, Sonipat and Yamunanagar districts in Haryana.

Residents in these areas have been advised to remain indoors during thunderstorms, avoid taking shelter under trees and stay away from waterlogged areas and electric poles.

Orange warning for other states

The weather department also issued an orange warning for several districts across five states and one Union Territory.

In Uttar Pradesh, the warning covers Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Hathras, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Shamli.