A spell of intense overnight rainfall, accompanied by fierce winds and thunderstorms, wreaked havoc across Delhi and nearby regions, causing waterlogged streets, fallen trees, and disruptions to air travel.

Several areas including Moti Bagh, Minto Road, Delhi Cantonment, and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg reported severe waterlogging. Delhi's main weather observatory recorded wind speeds peaking at 82 kmph and 81.2 mm of rainfall between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am.

The downpour also affected flight schedules at Indira Gandhi International Airport. At 3:59 am, IndiGo announced on social media that severe weather in the capital had temporarily interrupted flight services. By around 6 am, the airline confirmed that normal operations had resumed.

As of 7:30 am, flights were taking off from Delhi with an average delay of about 46 minutes, according to FlightRadar24. The morning temperature was 22°C.

The weather system didn't spare neighboring states either — parts of Haryana and Uttarakhand also received heavy rain.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier issued a red alert for Delhi and nearby areas, forecasting thunderstorms, gusty winds (exceeding 60 kmph in some cases), and frequent lightning. The alert came as a storm cell approached from the west and northwest.

Authorities have advised residents to remain indoors during extreme weather, avoid taking shelter under trees, steer clear of water bodies, and stay away from unstable structures.

On Wednesday, a cloud mass had swept into North Delhi and drifted southeast, bringing a dust storm and strong winds blowing at 50–60 kmph, with gusts up to 70 kmph. Light rain followed, and many localities reported power outages due to the storm's intensity.

This turbulent weather came just a day after the southwest monsoon officially hit Kerala — a full week ahead of schedule, marking its earliest arrival since 2009. Typically, the monsoon reaches Kerala by June 1, spreads across the country by July 8, and begins retreating from the northwest around September 17, with full withdrawal by October 15.