The Yamuna river overflowed, flooding the homes of more than 16,000 residents of Delhi's low-lying districts, forcing them to flee.
On Thursday morning, three metres above the danger level, the water level in the river that runs through Delhi's north and east hit 208 metres, prompting authorities to issue a flood alert.
Days of persistently heavy rain in northern India and the opening of the Hathnikund Barrage in the neighbouring state of Haryana are to blame for the rise.
The affluent Civil Lines neighbourhood, where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, bureaucrats, and other ministers reside, is among the parts of the capital that have experienced floods. On the Yamuna River's banks, at Nigambodh Ghat, the major cremation for the city, there was more than a metre of water.
After three water treatment facilities were shut down due to the flooding, the city is probably going to have a drinking water deficit.