Monsoon arrives in Delhi, and city records heaviest rainfall in June in 88 years

The Safdarjung Observatory, the city’s main weather station, recorded 228.1 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on June 28, more than three times the average June rainfall of 74.1 mm and the highest during the month since 88. . 1936.

Heavy rains cause roof collapse of Terminal 1 at Delhi airport, killing one person; lead to traffic jams and waterlogging in several areas of the city

The monsoon arrived in Delhi on June 28, and rains wreaked havoc across the city. Three hours of heavy rains caused roof collapse of Terminal 1 at Delhi airport, killing one person and affecting flight operations.

The Safdarjung Observatory, the city’s main weather station, recorded 228.1 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on June 28, more than three times the average June rainfall of 74.1 mm and the highest during the month since 88. Since 1936.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which defines extremely heavy rainfall as rainfall between 124.5 and 244.4 mm per day, said later in the morning that the monsoon had arrived. The rains started around three o’clock.

The early morning rains brought India’s national capital to its knees, claiming at least one more life, a 39-year-old man died of electrocution in Rohini. Three labourers were trapped after an under-construction wall collapsed in Vasant Vihar early in the morning and rescue operations continued till evening, with hopes of their survival fading with each passing minute.

Delhiites woke up to a wave of panic as water entered homes, submerged vehicles and caused miles of traffic jams that took hours to resolve. Thousands of commuters were stranded as tunnels, including at Pragati Maidan, were closed. Reports of water-logged homes came in from across the city, including the upmarket areas of Lutyens’ Delhi, Hauz Khas, South Extension and Mayur Vihar, on the first day of heavy rains.

Man killed as roof and support beam collapse at New Delhi airport
The mayhem at Delhi airport’s congested Terminal 1 took a tragic turn. Around 5 am, a huge canopy covering the departure area collapsed, trapping several people inside. The roof slabs as well as support beams collapsed, crushing parked cars.

A taxi driver, identified as Ramesh Kumar, was rescued from a car that fell on top of an iron beam but was declared dead when he was rushed to Medanta Hospital near the station. The civil aviation ministry said in a post

Delhi airport operator DIAL, which has formed a technical committee to investigate the roof collapse, said in a statement, “Though the cause of the roof collapse is being assessed, the main reason appears to be the heavy rains that continued for the last few hours.”

T1 has domestic flight operations only through IndiGo and SpiceJet. The airport, which has three terminals T1, T2 and T3, handles around 1,400 flight movements per day.

An IndiGo spokesperson said operations across the network were affected due to the unplanned situation. In a post on X, SpiceJet said flights have been cancelled as T1 will remain partially closed for operations until further notice.

Delhi Police officials said a case has been registered against unidentified persons under Sections 337 (causing hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) in the tragedy.

Delhi government holds emergency meeting

Weather models ‘fail’ to predict Delhi rains; NEW DELHI, JUNE 28 (PTI) – Forecasting models “failed” to predict the extreme weather event that took Delhiites by surprise early Friday, resulting in record rainfall of 228.1 mm, meteorologists said.

The amount is three times the June average of 74.1 mm and the highest during any month since 1936.

The monsoon interacted with the remnants of a western disturbance, resulting in heavy rains in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, an IMD official said.

Independent scientists indicated that the storm may have triggered heavy rainfall in north Delhi.

On June 26, the IMD forecast only light to moderate rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds for Friday (June 28).

On Thursday afternoon, the weather office noted that a trough of cyclonic circulation extends from central Gujarat to western Bihar in the lower tropospheric level.

In a weekly weather statement uploaded on the IMD YouTube page, scientist Soma Sen Roy said the trough is bringing moisture to northern and central India.

“The eastern and western lows are likely to strengthen during the week and rainfall will increase over north India,” he informed.

The extended range forecast issued by the IMD on Thursday night predicted fairly widespread light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning over northwest and eastern India during the next five days.

It also reported “very heavy rain” in Delhi on June 29 and 30, but no one expected heavy rain on Friday morning.

At 4:58 am on Friday, the IMD issued an advisory, saying, “Thunderstorms of light to moderate intensity rain with heavy falls at a few places and winds with speed reaching 20 to 40 kmph would occur over entire Delhi, National Capital Region and adjoining areas of Jangaon district, Sonipat.”

Later, it reported that the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 148.5 mm rainfall between 2:30 am and 5:30 am, indicating that a considerable amount of rain had already fallen before the IMD issued the alert.

The arrival of monsoon in Delhi was also announced on Friday afternoon, less than 15 hours after the main system that will deliver rain was expected to reach Delhi in two to three days.