Delhi in utter chaos after record-breaking rain

Heavy rainfall and winds brought down a roof at the main airport in New Delhi on Friday, killing one person and shutting down a busy domestic terminal, while flooded streets and traffic snarls caused widespread disruption in the Indian capital.

About 148.5 millimetres or 5.85 inches of rain fell over three hours on the airport area in the early morning – more than the average for all of June – according to the national weather office. Delhi’s main Safdarjung weather station recorded 228.1 mm (9 inches) of rainfall in the 24 hours, highest in 88 years.

At the airport, a portion of roof, the canopy, a column and its supporting beams at Terminal 1’s departure area collapsed, crushing four vehicles, airport authorities said in a statement. The terminal complex was shut down and flight operations at the terminal were suspended indefinitely, they added.

The city of 20 million people had faced searing heatwaves earlier this month. Experts blame climate change for the extreme heat followed by heavy rain.

At least 26 flights were cancelled and more than 180 were delayed, according to data from flight tracking platform Flightaware.

Domestic carrier Spicejet said it had cancelled eight flights while IndiGo said all flights from the terminal have been cancelled until midnight.

Terminal 1, one of three at the country’s biggest and busiest airport, was recently refurbished with its area more than tripled. Flight arrivals and departures at Terminal 1 were diverted to the airport’s other two terminals, Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said.

A wall at a building site in southwest Delhi collapsed in the downpour, with three labourers feared trapped in 12 feet of deep water and mud, a fire service spokesperson said. Elsewhere, part of a canopy of a new terminal building at Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh caved in following heavy rain.