16 flights to Delhi diverted due to rains, lightning

Of the 16 flights diverted, 10 were rerouted to Jaipur, three to Lucknow, two to Amritsar, and one to Ahmedabad.

A Vistara flight from Guwahati to Delhi, UK742, was diverted to Jaipur due to bad weather and air traffic congestion at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, reports said.

Another Vistara flight from Kolkata to Delhi, UK 778, had also been diverted to Lucknow earlier in the day due to air traffic congestion at Delhi airport.

IndiGo also issued a "travel advisory" and said flight operations in Delhi had been affected by heavy rain.

"#6ETravelAdvisory : Flight operations to/from #Delhi are impacted due to heavy rain. You may keep a tab on your flight status by visiting ://bit.ly/2EjJGGT. For any assistance, feel free to DM," the airline posted on X, formerly Twitter.

In a similar post was put up by SpiceJet, the ariline company warned that all arrivals and departures at Delhi airport may be affected.

The airline's post on X said, "#TravelUpdate: We are facing ATC congestion at Delhi (DEL) due to bad weather. All departures/arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via http://bit.ly/2tG9xBx"

Residents of Delhi, meanwhile, are hoping that the showers would bring down high pollution levels.

The city's air quality was nearing the severe category this morning with calm winds and cloudy conditions trapping pollutants, according to monitoring agencies.