Delhi-Meerut Expressway Grinds To A Halt, 18 Flights Cancelled As Rain Chaos Enters Day 2 | New-delhi-news News
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Delhi Rain News: Meanwhile, Flightradar24 data showed 18 flights cancelled at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday, with 166 services delayed.
Massive traffic jam on Delhi-Meerut Expressway following heavy rainfall.
Traffic on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway ground to a standstill on Tuesday, with visuals showing a massive jam building up as heavy rain lashed the national capital for a second straight day, flooding key junctions, delaying flights and pushing the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to sound a red alert.
Vehicles were seen wading through waterlogged stretches across the city, severely disrupting movement on major thoroughfares.
Waterlogging was reported near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, AIIMS, Ashoka Road and the Supreme Court, with an AIIMS flyover loop among the worst-hit spots. Baba Kharak Singh Marg, next to Connaught Place’s Outer Circle, also saw cars wading through standing water, while rain lashed Parliament Street, Connaught Place, ITO, RK Puram and Ferozeshah Road.
How Bad Is It At The Airport?
Flightradar24 data showed 18 flights cancelled at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday, with 166 services delayed. This follows a rougher Monday, when 26 flights were cancelled, 15 diverted and more than 390 delayed as the first spell of intense rain brought Delhi-NCR to a standstill.
What Does The IMD Forecast For The Rest Of The Day?
The IMD’s Tuesday morning update predicts moderate rain at many places across Delhi, with heavy to extremely heavy showers likely in isolated pockets, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds. Gurugram and Faridabad have been placed under a yellow alert, while Noida remains heavily clouded, though the IMD hasn’t issued a specific warning for the city yet.
How Much Rain Has Delhi Logged This Spell?
Cumulative rainfall till August 24 stood well above normal at several observatories. Safdarjung recorded 246.2 mm against a normal of 191.1 mm — a 29 per cent excess — while Palam logged 227.2 mm (28 per cent above normal) and Lodhi Road 233.2 mm (22 per cent above normal).
Ridge saw the steepest jump at 243 mm, 50 per cent above normal, and Ayanagar recorded 266.3 mm, a full 66 per cent above its usual mark.
The IMD has attributed the intensity to a middle- and upper-level western disturbance interacting with a lower-tropospheric trough running from the low-pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal towards southwest Uttar Pradesh.
Why Is Delhi-Meerut Expressway Congestion Drawing Extra Attention Right Now?
The jam comes just as an 8.7-km stretch of the expressway, between Sarai Kale Khan and the Uttar Pradesh border, is being used for India’s first real-world trial of Variable Speed Limits (VSL) — a system already in use in the US, UK and Germany.
Instead of a fixed 70 kmph cap for cars and 50 kmph for heavy vehicles, electronic boards linked to traffic sensors will lower speed limits in advance of building congestion, in slots ranging from 55 kmph during the day to 65 kmph overnight for cars.
The pilot, led by Prof Satish Chandra of IIT Roorkee and Dr Chalumuri Ravi Sekhar of CSIR-CRRI, began around August 15 and will be assessed after 30, 90 and 120 days for its effect on congestion and driver compliance — with Delhi Traffic Police enforcing the new limits through challans during the trial.
Have Other Delhi-NCR Expressways Seen Disruptions Recently?
Yes — last Thursday, Delhi Traffic Police had advised commuters approaching the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway from Vikas Marg and Akshardham to take alternate routes after a temporary closure or restriction was imposed on the stretch, with traffic personnel deployed to manage diversions.
Quick Answers
Ask News18The variable speed limit system on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway is intended to reduce congestion and accidents. It uses electronic boards linked to traffic sensors to lower speed limits in advance of building congestion.
Ask News18About the Author
Sumedha Kirti is a Chief Sub Editor with over eight years of experience — both at the desk and reporting. She is a graduate from Delhi University’s Miranda House. Kirti has previously worked with news…Read More
August 25, 2026, 11:20 IST
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