Rains lash Delhi, traffic snarled

New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) Heavy rains lashed Delhi Thursday, bringing respite from the humid weather but also reducing traffic to a crawl on major arterial roads.

The met office has forecast more rains Friday.

There was heavy traffic at Dhaula Kuan, Ring Road-stretch between Moti Bagh and Moolchand in south Delhi, at Connaught Place in central Delhi and also towards Akshardham in east Delhi.

The roads were choked and and massive water-logging was reported at several places.

"More than 30 minutes of rain, and traffic comes to a grinding halt in Delhi. This is very sad," Harish Sharma, a resident of Dwarka in west Delhi, told IANS.

Rains were also witnessed in neighbouring Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

"Traffic is painfully slow. Even a little rain means traffic woes for us," said Kumar Biswas, a software professional who was on his way from Gurgaon to Delhi.

"The skies will remain cloudy with rain and thundershowers in some parts of the city," said the India Meteorological Department official.

Friday's maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 34 and 28 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The maximum temperature Thursday was recorded three notches below the season's average at 36.8 degrees Celsius.

"Finally the rains have come again. I hope they get heavier," Kriti Sharma, a resident of Paschim Vihar, told IANS.

Humidity Thursday wavered between a high of 78 percent and a low of 57 percent, while the minimum temperature was recorded two notches above the season's average at 28.9 degrees Celsius.

Wednesday was muggy, with the maximum temperature settling at 37.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average. The minimum temperature settled a notch above the season's average at 27.9 degrees Celsius.