Delhi-NCR is under a red alert on Thursday morning after the IMD’s 6:45 am nowcast warned of squally winds up to 100 kmph. The bulletin flagged moderate thunderstorms, lightning and squally winds of 69-80 kmph gusting to 100 kmph, along with light to moderate rain at most places and moderate rain at many places across Delhi.
The red alert marks a sharp escalation from the light showers residents woke up to earlier in the morning, with the IMD’s localised nowcast pointing to a more intense spell moving in through the day. Weather trackers on X had earlier said the rain would be uneven, with the western side of Delhi likely to see heavier activity than the east — a pattern that now carries added risk given the high wind speeds forecast.
District authorities and disaster management officials have typically been alerted under such nowcasts, with residents advised to stay indoors during the peak of the storm.
The nowcast — a short-range, localised alert — forecast moderate thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and squally winds of 69-80 kmph, gusting up to 100 kmph, over Delhi. Light to moderate rain was flagged at most places, with moderate rain likely at many places.
The combination of high-speed squally winds and thunderstorm activity pushed the IMD to place Delhi under a red alert, its highest warning level, signalling a strong likelihood of disruptive and potentially damaging weather in the immediate hours ahead.
Weather tracker @navdeepdahiya55 on X said moderate to heavy showers have begun over northwest Delhi and Gurugram, marking the monsoon’s first real downpour over the region. The showers are likely to spread across most parts of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad within the next hour, per the update, which also flagged the risk of waterlogging in low-lying areas. Mild showers are expected to continue till around 10-11 am after the heavier spell passes.
With winds gusting up to 100 kmph, authorities typically advise people to avoid stepping out, stay away from weak structures, hoardings and trees, and secure loose objects on balconies and rooftops until the alert is lifted.
The red alert comes as the monsoon has been closing in on Delhi-NCR, with the IMD earlier forecasting onset within 48 hours and heavy rain warnings in place for the wider Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi belt through the coming days.
Yes — Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan remain under an orange alert for extremely heavy rain and landslide risk, while Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand continue to see active monsoon conditions.
Eight deaths were reported across UP in the preceding 24 hours, mostly from lightning strikes — including four labourers killed while transplanting paddy in Sultanpur and Moradabad, two deaths in Ballia, and single fatalities in Varanasi and Aligarh.
