Three people including two boys were killed and one injured due to heavy rain swept through several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) including Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad early Thursday morning, triggering waterlogging and traffic disruptions ahead of Independence Day celebrations. Office and school goers had a harrowing time as several key stretches faced traffic jams.
Two boys died after a wall collapsed on them in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area following heavy rains in the city. The wall collapse incident occurred around 4.40 pm near Hanuman Mandir in Basant Nagar. Police said they received a call about the collapse and rushed to the spot along with a disaster management team. A 10-year-old boy who hailed from Begusarai in Bihar, and a 9-year-old boy from Madhubani in Bihar were taken out from the debris and rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre in PCR vans. Doctors declared both of them brought dead, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said. Initial inquiry revealed that the boys had been sitting on stairs adjacent to the wall when it suddenly gave way, the officer said.
In another incident, a Neem tree uprooted and fell on a father-daughter duo riding a bike, and a car in South East Delhi’s Kalkaji. The father later succumbed to injuries during treatment. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Hemant Tiwari confirmed the death and said Sudhir Kumar, aged 50, passed away during treatment.
He also informed that the 22-year-old daughter, Priya, suffered a fracture in the right pelvic region. “She is stable and recovering,” he added.
Lajpat Nagar, Rohtak Road, Anand Parbat, GTK Depot in Jahangirpuri, Adarsh Nagar, Old GT Road near Ring Road, the carriageway from Ashram towards Moolchand on Mathura Road, and Dhaula Kuan-Gurugram road were inundated, inconveniencing commuters during the morning rush hour.
A DTC bus was stuck on the waterlogged Dhaula Kuan-Gurugram road. Cars passing through the stretch were partially submerged and those travelling on motorcycles and scooters were forced to get down and push their vehicles through the flooded section. A commuter stuck in traffic in Lajpat Nagar said, “I was stuck in traffic for hours due to massive waterlogging on Ring Road near Lajpat Nagar towards AIIMS. Traffic was at a standstill for two hours and has just started moving in a single lane.”
Similar scenes were witnessed near Subroto Park and Outer Ring Road, Dwarka Sector 20, Basai Road in Gurugram, and parts of Ghaziabad and Noida.
However, flight operations were normal, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport said in an update. “Delhi is experiencing inclement weather conditions. However, operations are currently normal,” the advisory said. Those planning to travel to the mountains in the upcoming extended weekend are also in for a disappointment as more showers are predicted in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal and Uttarakhand in the coming days.
Delhi Traffic Police took to X to warn commuters about waterlogged areas.”Due to the recent rains causing waterlogging at GTK Depot, Jahangirpuri and Adarsh Nagar, traffic on Old GT Road is likely to be severely affected. To avoid congestion, commuters are advised to avoid taking Old GT Road and are requested to plan accordingly or take alternate routes,” it said in a post.
Among the areas that recorded the highest rainfall by 8.30 am were Ayanagar (57.4 mm), Palam (49.4 mm), Mayur Vihar (17.5 mm), and Ridge (17.4 mm). The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain to persist throughout the day. Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, the national Capital received 79.4 mm rainfall.
The city’s cumulative rainfall touched 818.1 mm on Thursday, surpassing the yearly norm of 774.4 mm, according to official data. Light showers are expected at least until August 20, including two to three brief spells on Independence Day.The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s main weather station, measured 13.1 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Thursday, followed by another 79.4 mm between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm.This took August’s total to 254.8 mm, surpassing the normal monthly average of 233.1 mm, according to the IMD data.
With Thursday’s showers, Delhi’s cumulative rainfall for 2025 touched 818.1 mm - already exceeding the city’s yearly average and marking the quickest such crossover since 2021.The trend is remarkable given that the first four months of 2025 saw a mere 10.5 mm of rainfall.From May onward, however, the capital has logged more than 800 mm, with every month since then recording excess rain.
May, in particular, set a new record as the wettest ever, with 186.4 mm - over six times the normal of 30.7 mm. June saw 107.1 mm, about 45 per cent above its long-period average (LPA) of 74.1 mm, while July recorded 259.3 mm, which was 24 per cent higher than the LPA of 209.7 mm.
Gurugram saw 44 mm of rain till 8 am, as per data shared by the district administration. From 8 am till 5 pm, the city saw 15-27 mm of rain across its tehsils. Several neighbourhoods were underwater by 9 am: Palam Vihar, Ashok Vihar Phase 3, E-Block in Sushant Lok 1, and Sector 23A saw moderate to heavy waterlogging.
Issuing the ‘orange’ alert for Delhi, which means “be prepared”, the IMD warned of moderate to heavy rainfall during the day, along with thunderstorms and lightning in several parts of the capital. Rainfall is expected to persist in the capital till August 17, according to weather office.