Delhi and its adjoining areas woke up to rain on Thursday morning, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for parts of the city with a warning of heavy downpour till at least 12 pm.

Vehicles wade through a waterlogged stretch on Mehrauli–Badarpur Road near Jamia Hamdard University after heavy rain on Wednesday, August 5 (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times)

The IMD issued a red alert for parts of Delhi, including North East Delhi, Central Delhi, South East Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi and Shahdara, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning. The alert was in effect till at least 12:15 pm.

Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Noida as well as Haryana's Gurugram, which neighbour Delhi, also received light to moderate rain. While Noida and Ghaziabad were under an orange alert, Gurugram was placed under a yellow warning, according to the nowcast viewed on IMD website at around 9:30 pm.

In Gurugram, the early morning rain triggered waterlogging and traffic snarls across key stretches including the Delhi-Jaipur expressway.

Severe traffic snarls were reported at Narsinghpur, Manesar and Bilaspur on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway.

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Gurugram and Faridabad, meanwhile, remain under a yellow alert, with light rainfall expected over the next few hours.

Amid persistent rain, Gurugram Police on Thursday issued an advisory urging corporate offices and private establishments to allow employees to work from home wherever possible.

The weather office has forecast the maximum temperature to settle around 32 degrees Celsius.

The city's air quality remained in the "satisfactory" category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 84 at 9 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Rain also lashed Delhi on Wednesday, triggering traffic snarls and waterlogging in several parts of the city.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued yellow and orange alerts for different areas, warning of moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms.

According to the IMD, Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, recorded 15.4 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 11.30 am on Wednesday, while Lodhi Road received 26 mm. The Ridge station recorded trace rainfall during the same period.

Heavy rain was reported from several parts of the capital, including Vijay Chowk, Jantar Mantar, Kartavya Path, ITO, Mathura Road, Sangam Vihar, C R Park and Lodhi Road.