Gurgaon: A 15mm spell of rain brought traffic to a crawl on Thursday, turning routine 15-minute journeys into hour-long ordeals. IFFCO Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Sector 31, Huda City Centre metro station and Udyog Vihar were among the worst-affected stretches, leaving commuters battling long delays even as the maximum temperature plunged.“Traffic was moving slowly around IFFCO Chowk after the rain. Vehicles were piling up, and it took more than an hour to reach Udyog Vihar from IFFCO Chowk, a journey that normally takes barely 15 minutes. This was around 12.30pm,” said Abhinash Kapoor, a commuter.“Rajiv Chowk was severely affected by traffic congestion after rain. It was difficult to get through the junction at all. Vehicles were not moving for 15 minutes or more. Once I was on the highway, it was even worse,” said another commuter, Geeta Mehra.Traffic police said the rain also brought down trees and electric poles at several locations, creating further hazards. Personnel cleared obstructions to facilitate traffic movement, according to a statement issued on Thursday. Motorists were advised to drive slowly, maintain a safe distance and avoid fallen trees, poles and broken electrical wires. Residents were urged to contact the department concerned in emergencies.The maximum temperature, however, fell 3.7°C from Wednesday to 28.7°C, while the minimum stood at 21.6°C at 8.30am, up 1.9°C over the previous 24 hours.India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued successive thunderstorm alerts. A 10.09am bulletin forecast moderate thunderstorms, lightning and winds of 40-60kmph in parts of Gurgaon, Sohna, Faridabad and Manesar. Severe thunderstorms, with winds of 60-80kmph and possible hail, were forecast in parts of northern Haryana. A fresh alert at 1.40pm forecast thunderstorms, lightning and moderate rain in southern Haryana, including Gurgaon, Manesar and Sohna, until 4.40pm.Weather observer Navdeep Dahiya, who posts on X as ‘Weatherman Navdeep’, described Thursday as another rainy day across Delhi-NCR, with afternoon temperatures hovering around 20°C. He forecast a dry, pleasant weekend but warned that the air quality index (AQI) could rise again next week, particularly at night.IMD’s weekly report dated Oct 15 recorded 10.1mm of rain in the city between Oct 9 and 15, against a normal 2.5mm — 303% above normal. For Oct 1-15, rainfall stood at 10.1mm against a normal 6.7mm, or 50% above normal. Haryana received an average 14.2mm during the week, against 2.4mm normally, a 491% departure.The report also recorded the southwest monsoon’s withdrawal from the entire country on Oct 15 and an upper-air cyclonic circulation over south Haryana and adjoining areas, at 0.9km above mean sea level.
