Residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad woke up to heavy rainfall with thundering on Saturday morning. As the thick clouds engulfed the national capital region, residents said it turned dark outside. Power cut was reported in many places, while four flights were diverted.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that thunderstorms and dust storm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 40-70 km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of the entire Delhi and NCR region.
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The Delhi airport stated that flight operations were impacted too due to the bad weather. The airport advised flyers to check with arrival and departure schedules with their respective airlines.
The IMD quoted IGI airport data and said that Delhi experienced moderate to severe thunderstorm with very strong gusty winds. At 6am, the westerly-southwesterly reached to 65kmph, gusting at 99kmph.
An IMD official told News18 that a patch of strong convective clouds is moving across Delhi, leading to bad weather during next two hours over the national capital.
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The official further said that wind direction is 280 degrees (west-northwest), the wind speed is 11 knots, and there are gusts up to 32 knots. “Temporary conditions are expected with reduced visibility of 800 meters due to thunderstorms with rain,” the weatherman said.
Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 30-60 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of NCR, the weather department stated.
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The national capital regions mentioned in IMD forecast included regions in Uttar Pradesh — Ghaziabad, Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Hastinapur, Chandpur, Kithor, Amroha, Moradabad, Garhmukteshwar, Gulaoti, Siyana, Sambhal, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahar, Jahangirabad, Anupshahar, Bahajoi, Shikarpur, Khurja, Pahasu, Narora, Gabhana, Jattari, Atrauli, Khair, Aligarh and Iglas.
Other areas on IMD list include Rajasthan’s Bhadra, Sidhmukh and Sadulpur; and Haryana’s Hissar, Meham, Hansi and Bhiwani areas.
The meteorological department predicted light to moderate intensity rain and winds with speed of 20-40 Km/h over Haryana’s Kaithal, Karnal, Rajaund, Jind, Panipat, Gohana, Gannaur, Meham, Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Narnaul, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad and Hodal.
Same weather condition is expected in Uttar Pradesh’s Nandgaon, Barsana, Raya and Mathura, and Rajasthan’s Bhiwari, Tizara, Khairthal, Alwar, Viratnagar, Nagar, Deeg, Laxmangarh, Nadbai, Bharatpur and Mahawa during the next two hours.
The rain, that has brought much-awaited relief to the residents of Delhi-NCR, comes three days after IMD said that heatwave has ended in entire India and it issued orange alert in several states.
“Heatwave has ended in entire India today. From today temperature will decrease and it will be cloudy. We have issued Orange Alert for hailstorms, storms and rain in Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh. There is a possibility of heavy rains in the hilly areas for the next 2-3 days. There are chances of storms in East India as well,” IMD scientist RK Jenamani had said on May 24.
