Gurgaon: Heavy rain lashed the city on Friday, triggering waterlogging across several areas, slowing traffic and disrupting the evening commute. The wet spell is expected to continue on Saturday, though with lower intensity, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).According to IMD, the city’s maximum temperature dropped to 26.9 degrees Celsius at the KVK automatic weather station on Friday, compared with 33.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday. The minimum temperature was 25.6 degrees Celsius, lower than 26.2 degrees Celsius recorded a day earlier.According to the district administration, Sohna recorded the highest rainfall at 82 mm between 8am and 5pm on Friday. Badshahpur received 74 mm; Wazirabad 68.5 mm; Gurgaon tehsil, Kadipur and Harsaru 60 mm each; Farrukhnagar 58 mm; Manesar 38 mm; and Pataudi 18 mm.Independent weather forecaster Navdeep Dahiya said the monsoon trough and an embedded cyclonic circulation over north India continued to sustain widespread rainfall across Delhi-NCR. In an update issued at 12.50pm on Friday, he said the core spell had shifted west after bringing widespread rain across the region. He added that a few localities could receive more than 100 mm of rainfall by the end of the day and warned that waterlogging would persist.IMD has forecast generally cloudy skies with intermittent light to moderate rain and thunderstorms for Saturday. While widespread heavy rainfall is expected to ease, isolated heavy showers remain possible. Waterlogged stretches may continue to affect traffic during the morning hours before conditions gradually improve later in the day.Waterlogging affected several areas, including sectors 42, 43, 28, Sushant Lok, Essel Tower, IFFCO Chowk, Sikanderpur, Galleria Market and parts of Manesar, with traffic moving at a crawl on several arterial roads.Commuters reported long traffic snarls on Golf Course Road, MG Road and roads around IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur. “A journey that usually takes 20 to 30 minutes took more than an hour because of waterlogged stretches and slow-moving traffic,” said Kavita Yadav, a commuter near Galleria Market.Near Traffic Tower, a school bus and several other vehicles waded through floodwater that covered the entire carriageway while pedestrians were seen walking through knee-deep water. At several locations, roads effectively narrowed to a single usable lane because of flooding.Several motorists took longer routes to avoid flooded roads, while others waited for water levels to recede before proceeding. Officials advised residents to avoid waterlogged stretches wherever possible and expect delays during the evening commute.
