Title - Delhi sees heaviest winter rainfall in six years

New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS): The capital received the heaviest rainfall of the winter season since Monday breaking a six-year-old record. The showers due to western disturbance are likely to bring down the temperature, the weatherman said Tuesday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the capital had 46 mm of rainfall from Monday 8.30 a.m. to Tuesday morning, the highest winter rainfall it received in a day in the past six years.

"The rainfall received was the highest in the winters season since 2007, which had received 40.4 mm," an official at the Safdarjung meteorological department told IANS.

The overnight rains led to flooding of roads resulting in traffic jams in several areas.

Commuters in the capital and its suburbs had a harrowing time Tuesday with several key roads waterlogged following heavy rains that saw the minimum temperature settling five notches above average at 13.5 degrees Celsius.

"We are continuously receiving calls regarding traffic jams from various parts of the city. There was water stagnation in Laxmi Nagar and Najafgarh. There were complaints from Mehrauli-Badarpur road as well," a traffic helpline official said.

Traffic snarls were reported from several areas including Dhaula Kuan, Nehru Place, Shakti Nagar, Rohini, ISBT Kashmere Gate and Vikas Marg near ITO.

The weatherman attributed the rainfall to a western disturbance and forecast more rain and hailstorms later in the day.

"The sky would remain cloudy. There would be no change in the weather pattern till Wednesday. There will be rain, thunder squalls and hailstorms due to the western disturbance," an IMD official told IANS.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around the 19 degrees Celsius-mark, the official added.

Visibility at 8.30 a.m. was 800 metres and humidity 100 percent.

According to a railway official, 11 trains were cancelled and at least 11 others were delayed due to fog.

"Over 11 trains were running behind schedule by several hours and 11 trains have been cancelled today (Tuesday). Dense fog across many parts of north India affected rail services," a Northern Railway spokesperson said.

Monday's maximum and minimum temperatures were three notches below average at 24.2 and 11.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.