Rain Pounds Delhi Amid 4-Day Warning By Weather Office

Rains pounded parts of Delhi this afternoon after an overcast morning, amid the weather department's forecast that mercury would dip by nine to ten degrees below normal with four days of rains. The national capital region has seen strong winds offering a reprieve from rising temperatures for the better part of a week now.

The downpour inundated roads, sending commuters scurrying for shelter. Heavy rainfall was reported from Lajpat Nagar, ITO, Lodhi Road, Lutyens' Delhi, and Noida.

The rain also led to waterlogging in some areas and slowed traffic to a crawl in stretches between Noida and Delhi, ITO and others.

Light rain hit parts of Delhi on Sunday, bringing down the maximum temperature to 28.7 degrees Celsius, 10 notches below the season's average and the lowest in the month since April 4, 2015, the India Meteorological Department said.

The city recorded a high of 26 degrees Celsius on April 4, 2015.

The IMD today said almost all states across the country are expected to see rain for the next four days. It has been raining in most parts of the country for the past two days, it said.

The main reason for the unseasonal downpour is "Western Disturbance", Dr Naresh Kumar, Senior Scientist at IMD, said, adding that a warning of heavy rainfall has been issued in the Western Himalayan region, meaning more than 6.5 cm of rainfall.

"There's a possibility of hailstorms in Punjab, Haryana, and the western Himalayan region as wind is coming from the West and also from the Bay of Bengal," Dr Kumar said.

East India is also cloudy and there are chances of rain for three to four days, the weather office said, adding that there could be heavy rainfall in the North East for three days as well.

Down south, rainfall is expected from Vidarbha to Karnataka.

"Except for Konkan, Goa, and central Maharashtra, rain is expected in the whole country for the next four days," they said.