Every monsoon, the same debate resurfaces across Delhi-NCR. Noida or Gurugram, which city does better during heavy rains? The long-running rivalry between the two neighbouring cities was revived this week yet again as intense showers lashed the region, with users flooding social media platforms, especially X, with videos, and comparisons.

The rains brought the usual disruptions across NCR, with waterlogged roads, overflowing drains, traffic snarls and packed metro stations. But while Gurugram witnessed widespread flooding and hours-long traffic jams in several parts of the city, many Noida residents claimed their city fared comparatively better, crediting its planned layout and drainage network. 

Several users on X shared videos showing relatively smooth traffic movement in Noida even after hours of rain, contrasting them with visuals of submerged roads and stalled vehicles in Gurugram.

One user wrote, "Noida will always be superior to Gurugram in terms of infrastructure," while another joked, "Habibi, come to Noida." Others praised Noida's wider roads, planned sectors and better civic infrastructure, arguing that the city is better equipped to cope with heavy rainfall. 

Apart from bringing down temperatures, the rainfall also improved Delhi's air quality, which is usually at high pollution levels. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at a 'satisfactory' 61 at 9 am.

As heavy rains continued in parts of Kerala, the IMD on Thursday issued an orange alert in three districts of the state for the day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in the districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad.

It also issued a yellow alert in six other districts -- Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur and Kasaragod -- for the day.

An orange alert indicates very heavy rain of 115mm to 204mm and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 64mm to 115mm.

The rains caused property damage in many parts of the state due to uprooted trees and broken branches.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the rainfall deficit has improved from 33% in June to 17% by July 7

The Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of north Arabian Sea, Rajasthan, Haryana and  Punjab today.

Thus, it has covered the entire country on 09th July, 2026, against the normal date of 08th July (1 day after the normal date of covering the entire India).

Monsoon-related incidents have claimed three lives and forced the evacuation of nearly 800 persons across Thane district in the past week, while a lightning strike in the latest weather-related incident left two persons injured, officials said on Thursday.

The district administration said in an official release that the fatalities include one person each from Thane city, Ambernath, and Mira Bhayander.

A total of 11 persons have sustained injuries in various rain-related accidents during the season, the official said.

A lightning strike injured two persons, including a teenage girl, in Murbad taluka on Wednesday, said tehsildar Abhijit Deshmukh. Both were rushed to the Tokawde Primary Health Centre and are reported to be out of danger, he said.

In separate incidents, two young boys drowned in a river and a nullah in Bhiwandi on July 5 and July 6, respectively. Search operations to trace them are still underway, they said.

Meanwhile, the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the swollen Potgaon river in Murbad. The body has been sent for a post-mortem, and police are working to establish his identity, said officials.

Torrential downpours have caused widespread disruption, forcing emergency teams to rescue and shift 797 persons from 229 families to safer locations, they said.

Officials have appealed to citizens who find these floating gas cylinders in the river to immediately hand them over to the authorities or the company

Delhi-NCR caught the grip of waterlogging and gridlock - NDTV's @aishvaryjain joins with ground details from Noida, and Saumya Jaiswal joins with ground details from Gurugram @divyawadhwa pic.twitter.com/c5Ppd0FgM0

— NDTV (@ndtv) July 9, 2026

Mumbai woke up to an overcast sky, but largely rain-free conditions on Thursday after days of incessant monsoon showers, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast intermittent rainfall later in the day.

Despite the cloudy weather, it did not rain in most parts of the city during the morning, providing relief after a prolonged wet spell that had caused waterlogging, tree falls, traffic snarls and disruption to suburban rail services.

The IMD has forecast a generally cloudy sky with intermittent light to moderate rainfall in the city and suburbs during the day. Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places, accompanied by lightning, thunder and occasional gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

According to the BMC, the island city received an average rainfall of 14.21 mm in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Thursday, while the eastern suburbs recorded 39.37 mm and the western suburbs 28.85 mm.

There was a high tide of 3.49 metres at 7 am, and the next high tide is expected at 6.09 pm at 3.62 metres, while a low tide will occur at 12.29 pm at 2.32 metres, the civic body said.

A tree has fallen outside National Heart Institute Hospital in Delhi's East of Kailash 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rain accompanied by strong winds in the Nilgiris district on Thursday, while several other parts of Tamil Nadu are also expected to receive rainfall under the influence of a low-pressure trough extending from south Gujarat to central Kerala.

According to the IMD, the prevailing weather system is likely to trigger rain in isolated parts of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry over the next few days.

The department has warned that the Nilgiris, a hilly district prone to rain-related incidents during the southwest monsoon, is likely to experience intense spells of rain along with gusty winds.

The weather office said other districts situated along the Western Ghats are also expected to receive moderate rainfall accompanied by strong winds on Wednesday and Thursday.

Authorities have advised residents in vulnerable areas to remain cautious, particularly in regions susceptible to landslides, falling trees and waterlogging.

#WATCH | Delhi: Rain lashes several parts of the national capital; visuals from the Pitampura area. pic.twitter.com/mZVMxwPrQr

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2026

The Southwest Monsoon has intensified across Karnataka, bringing widespread rainfall to several districts, swelling rivers, filling reservoirs and lakes, and triggering flood-like situations in parts of the state's northern area.

While the rains have brought much-needed relief from drought conditions, several low-lying areas and agricultural lands have been inundated as rivers continue to rise.

Belagavi district has been among the worst affected, with incessant rainfall causing the Doodhganga, Markandeya, and Ghataprabha rivers to overflow. Vast stretches of agricultural land along the riverbanks - and extending nearly half a kilometre away - with sugarcane, maize, and chilli have been submerged.

Farmers, who had been struggling with drought and severe water scarcity until recently, are now facing losses due to flooding. Residents said the Ghataprabha River, which had barely any water just four days ago, is now overflowing following heavy rainfall in Maharashtra and the Western Ghats.

Uttarakhand Secretary, Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, Vinod Kumar Suman on Wednesday directed all major dams and barrages across the state to mandatorily share updated information on reservoir water levels, inflow, outflow and discharge with the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) every day at 8 am and 8 pm, a release said.

The directions were issued during a high-level review meeting chaired by Vinod Kumar Suman at the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) at USDMA. He instructed officials from the concerned departments and hydropower projects to further strengthen coordination and monitoring mechanisms during the monsoon season.

Suman directed that whenever water is proposed to be released from any dam or barrage, prior intimation must be provided to the State Emergency Operations Centre as well as the respective district administration. He said the information should include the estimated time the released water would take to reach downstream areas, the expected rise in river water levels and the likely impact on affected regions to enable authorities to issue timely warnings and take precautionary measures to safeguard people living in vulnerable areas, it added.

The Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway has completed a series of monsoon preparedness measures, including cleaning 132 kilometres of side drains, installing 260 pumps at vulnerable road underbridges and positioning emergency stocks of ballast and quarry dust, as part of efforts to ensure safe and uninterrupted train operations during the rainy season.

The measures were reviewed at a monsoon preparedness meeting chaired by Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Ved Prakash at the divisional office on Wednesday.

Former Railway Board Member (Infrastructure) Anil Kumar Khandelwal attended the meeting as a special guest.

Senior divisional officers, heads of departments responsible for monsoon management and all Senior Section Engineers (Works) participated, with the engineers joining virtually.

According to the division, the meeting reviewed preparations for potential monsoon-related challenges and assessed arrangements to maintain passenger safety and reliable train services.

Gurugram struggled with waterlogging and traffic chaos as it received 115 mm of rain in the 33 hours, with commuters stranded on roads for hours.

Traffic crawled on several major roads, including the Delhi-Jaipur Highway service lane near Narsinghpur, Basai, Kadipur and Sohna Road, with several vehicles reportedly breaking down in waterlogged stretches.

Officials said teams from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), police and other agencies were deployed to drain out water and regulate traffic.

The city's drainage system virtually collapsed as it recorded 115 mm of rainfall in the last two days. Official data stated that 83 mm of rainfall was recorded on Tuesday, followed by another 32 mm on Wednesday.