New Delhi: Several airlines issued advisories for passengers travelling through Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday as the National
Capital Region prepared for another spell of heavy rain.
The advisories came after Friday evening’s continuous downpour caused waterlogging, traffic jams and disruption near the airport.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms, lightning and light to moderate rainfall at different times on September 5. Parts of Delhi remained under a red alert until 12 noon, while the weather department placed other areas under an orange alert.
Airlines issue advisories
Delhi Airport authorities said flight operations remained normal as of Saturday morning. In an advisory issued at 10.30 am, GMR, which operates IGI Airport, said the IMD had forecast bad weather near the airport. However, airport operations continued normally at the time of the advisory.
IndiGo warned that adverse weather conditions in Delhi could delay flight operations. The country’s largest airline asked passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport. It also advised travellers to allow extra time for their journey as waterlogging and slow-moving traffic could affect road access to the airport.
Tata Group-owned Air India also warned that bad weather could affect its flights to and from Delhi.
Waterlogging hits Delhi-NCR
Continuous rainfall on Janmashtami left several roads flooded across Delhi and Gurugram. Waterlogging caused traffic snarls at several prominent locations and disrupted normal movement.
Heavy water accumulation near IGI Airport affected flight operations on Friday. Commuters also struggled to travel through inundated stretches around the terminals.
Another spell of heavy rain could worsen the situation in areas where water has not yet drained.
More heavy rain forecast
Independent weather forecaster Navdeep Dahiya has predicted fresh heavy rain across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad from Saturday afternoon until late evening. Parts of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh could also receive heavy rainfall.
In a post on X, Dahiya said Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad could record 60 to 140 mm of rainfall by midnight on September 5. Delhi and Gurugram could receive between 30 and 80 mm during the same period. Intermittent rainfall was expected during the first half of the day, followed by possible heavy downpours from the afternoon to late evening. The intense spell could cause more waterlogging during the second half.
Delhi’s weekly forecast
The IMD has forecast étoiles cloudy skies and moderate rain in Delhi on September 5. Temperatures could range between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius, while humidity may remain between 70 and 95 per cent. Delhi may see generally cloudy conditions with light rain or drizzle on September 6. Temperatures could range from 23 to 32 degrees Celsius, with humidity between 65 and 90 per cent.
Partly cloudy skies are likely from September 7 to September 10. The maximum temperature could remain around 34 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature may range between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius during this period. Humidity could gradually fall from a range of 55 to 85 per cent on September 7 to between 50 and 80 per cent from September 8 onwards.
