Delhi experiences extreme weather whiplash as heat waves transition to record rainfall and deadly flash floods.
Sudden heavy rains have caused deadly flash flooding in India’s capital, replacing one of the worst heat waves in Delhi’s history, which had pushed temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
An observatory in New Delhi reported 228.1 millimeters (nearly 9 inches) of rainfall in a 24-hour period on Friday, the highest recorded in a single June day for 88 years, and exceeding the city's average for the entire month, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
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At least 11 people died from the rain and flooding last week, including four who drowned in submerged underpasses, Reuters reported, citing local media.
Heavy rains flooded roads, submerged cars and subways, and cut power to parts of the city. Videos posted on social media showed waterlogged streets in Delhi, with residents wading waist-deep through the floods.
The Delhi capital region “is becoming home to extreme weather every season now,” said independent weatherman Navdeep Dahiya on X.
On Friday, heavy rain caused a section of the roof at New Delhi’s airport to collapse, crushing one man to death and injuring eight others. Photos released by the fire service showed the large white canopy of the roof had fallen to the ground, crushing several cars. One person was seen slumped under twisted metal in the driver's seat of one of the cars.
The heavy rains have brought some relief from weeks of blistering heat, with one part of Delhi reaching 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in late May — the capital’s highest temperature on record. This year’s scorching heat wave persisted even after sunset, with high nighttime temperatures providing little relief.
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a weather warning until July 4 as heavy rains hit much of India’s northeast, east, and northwest coast.
Red alerts, indicating the highest level of threat, were issued for parts of the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, and Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
“Heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over northwest, east, and northeast India over the next four to five days,” the Indian Meteorological Department stated on Sunday.
In Uttar Pradesh, which borders the Indian Capital Territory, two women reportedly died after a water tank collapsed in the heavy rain, according to ANI News. In Uttarakhand, video posted by ANI News shows vehicles being hauled out of floodwaters after being swept away by heavy rain. CNN cannot independently verify these reports.
On Friday, five Indian army personnel died after their tank got stuck in flash floods while attempting to cross a river during training in northern Ladakh, the army said in a post on X.
“Rescue teams rushed to the location, but due to high current and water levels, the rescue mission didn’t succeed, and the tank crew lost their lives,” the army stated.
Heavy monsoon rains have also caused damage in neighboring countries. In Nepal, at least nine people, including three children, were killed after rains triggered landslides in the country’s west, Reuters reported, citing an official from the National Disaster Rescue and Reduction Management Authority.
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From no water to too much water
India, the world’s most populous nation, is one of the countries worst affected by the human-caused climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, potentially affecting 1.4 billion people nationwide.
The climate crisis is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe, scientists say, and this can be seen playing out in climate-vulnerable India, which is suffering from extremes of heat, rainfall, and other disasters such as cyclones.
While India often experiences heat waves during the summer months of May and June, in recent years, they have arrived earlier and become more prolonged, with scientists linking some of these longer and more intense heat waves to climate change.
New Delhi topped a recent list of hottest capital cities, recording 4,222 days above 35 degrees Celsius in the past three decades — more than any other city analyzed. Between 2014 and 2023, just under half (44%) of days in the Indian capital met that threshold, compared to 35% from 1994 to 2003, and 37% from 2004 to 2013.
Delhi, like many cities in India, is suffering from a water crisis, with acute water shortages and lack of groundwater supply leaving many people to rely on water tankers for their supply of fresh, clean water.
"We get water only once a day, and it’s scalding hot. Unless you fill up a bucket and let it cool off all day before using it, you can’t bathe in this water," said 60-year-old Kalyani Saha, a resident of the Lajpat Nagar neighborhood in the capital city, recently told CNN.
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Meanwhile, seasonal monsoon rains usually start in June and continue until September, bringing bands of heavy rains from the southwest that quench fields, nourish crops, and replenish reservoirs. However, recent studies have shown that India's monsoons have become more erratic over the past decade due to the climate crisis, posing significant risks to critical sectors such as agriculture, water, and energy.
Last June, nearly half a million people in northeast India were affected by severe flooding after heavy rains battered the region.
"Because of climate change, you will get more extreme rain events, which means more rain in fewer rainy days or hours," Sunita Narain, director general of the Indian research body Centre for Science and Environment, said in a video post on YouTube last week.
"If you look at the data from across India, you will find that many weather stations are already reporting that they are breaking the record of 24-hour rainfall, which means that a city or region can get its annual rainfall, as much as a whole year’s rain, in a matter of a few days or even one day."
Going from water scarcity to floods is a "cycle that we are beginning to see more and more," Narain said, adding that it was an opportunity "to make a change."
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In a separate video post on the importance of rainwater harvesting, Narain said, "The only way we can manage floods is by building drainage systems so that our rivers are drained into channels and ponds, allowing excess rain to be held and recharge groundwater for the dry season that comes after."
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