New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Heavy rains lashed the city Thursday, bringing a respite from the heat and muggy weather but plunging several parts of the city into hours-long traffic snarls and affecting domestic passengers' arrival at Terminal 3 of the airport.

"The rains led to excess water spilling into the domestic arrival area of Terminal-3 (T-3). As a precautionary measure, incoming domestic passengers and baggage operations were diverted to the international flight area of T-3. No flights have been delayed due to the diversion," said Indira Gandhi International Airport's spokesperson Kapil Sabharwal.

Some taxi counters were forced to shut down due to flooding.

The minimum temperature was 25.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above average, and the maximum was recorded at 34.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season.

The rainfall recorded in different parts of the city during the day varied. The observatory at Palam near the airport in southwest Delhi recorded 120mm rain while the Safdarjung observatory in central Delhi recorded 35mm rain between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.

Though the rains cooled the city, Delhiites had a harrowing time as many roads were flooded with up to calf-deep water and traffic snarls resulted.

According to Delhi Traffic Police, there were reports of traffic being affected at Rail Bhavan near Parliament House, Rafi Marg and the ITO crossing in central Delhi, Mayapuri Chowk, Naraina road and Dhaula Kuan in west Delhi, Vikas Marg in east Delhi and Kalindi Kunj and Malviya Nagar in south Delhi and the Noida DND toll road.

Water-logging was reported from several areas like Patparganj, Lala Lajpat Rai road, ITO, Chandni Chowk, Prahladpur, Keshav Chowk, Maharani Bagh, Lajpat Nagar and Dwarka.

"With just a few hours rain, the city is stuck. There are serpentine traffic jams and knee-deep water. The position of the city is frustrating," said Ritu Kumar, a BPO worker who was stuck at Dhuala Kuan.

While stalled cars were a common sight, at many places like Greater Kailash, Connaught Place, India Gate and Indraprastha Park people seemed to enjoy being soaked in the rain.

"We had samosas and kachoris. The rains came as a respite from the heat," said a group of college girls at Connaught Place in central Delhi.

According to India Meteorological Department, rains are also expected Friday, which would be a cloudy day.

While the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 32 degrees Celsius, the minimum is likely to be around 25 degrees Celsius Friday.