Eight people were injured as trees and houses fell in different parts of the city after gusty winds accompanied by rain lashed the national Capital on Monday morning, bringing the minimum temperature down to 17.2 degrees Celsius from 29 degrees Celsius - nine degrees below normal. Heavy rain and thunderstorms in Delhi and its adjoining areas led to massive traffic jams and affected flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGAI).
According to information, around 130 flights were delayed — 90 at the departure terminal and 44 at arrivals — while 20 were diverted to other airports between 6 am and 10 am as wind speeds touching as high as 75 km per hour disrupted operations. Taking note of water-logging and traffic jams, Gurugram police issued an advisory to work from home for Monday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that in an 80-minute period, the temperature in Delhi fell by 11 degrees from 29 degrees Celsius at 5.40 am to 18 degrees Celsius by 7 am.
Private weather forecaster Skymet said that the minimum temperature recorded in the city was not only the lowest of the season but also the lowest in a decade during May. The lowest all-time minimum in May stands at 15.2 degrees Celsius, which was observed on May 2, 1982, it added.
According to Skymet Weather, mercury in Delhi went down by “10 degrees in one hour” on Monday morning. The temperature dropped from 29 degrees at 5:30 am to 19 degrees at 6:30 am. “Delhi recorded 17.2 degrees minimum temperature on May 23, its lowest during the decade for May. Record for the lowest is 15.2 degrees on May 2 in 1982.
Heatwave will not make a comeback anytime soon over north India, including Delhi NCR,” Skymet’s Mahesh Palawal tweeted.
Also, the IMD in a tweet has predicted that rainfall, accompanied with strong gusty winds up to 50-60 kilometres per hour, are very likely to occur over Delhi and the national capital region during the night. The weather department also predicted similar weather conditions over Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and the western region of Uttar Pradesh during the next 8 to 10 hours. The MeT department said that a hail storm is very likely to occur in these areas.
According to Delhi Police, the houses collapsed in Jawalapuri, Moti Nagar, Shankar Road, Mundka and Gokulpuri areas. According to police, 62 PCR calls related to uprooted trees were received due to gusty winds. Eight vehicles parked on the roadside were damaged after the trees were uprooted. No casualties were reported.
In South Delhi’s Moti Bagh area, a tree fell on a car but its occupants escaped unhurt. Similar incidents were reported from other parts of the city. Officials said power supply lines were also damaged in some areas leading to blackouts as tree fell on them.
“Heavy rain at multiple intervals with storm inflicted damages to the electrical network and caused repeated trippings, leading to disruption in power supply in Narela, Bawana, Badli, Mangolpuri, Kirari, Shalimar Bagh, Keshav Puram and Moti Nagar “, said a Tata Power Delhi Distribution Spokesperson.
Water logging caused traffic snarls on various stretches, including the ITO, DND, near AIIMS, Kashmeri Gate, Pul Prahladpur, Palam, Narsingh-Jaipur road, Mehrauli-Badarpur road, NH 48, Rao Tula Ram flyover, Khajuri Chowk intersection and other areas.
The IMD said this is the first storm of moderate intensity of this season since March. The IMD said that winds gusting at a maximum speed of up to 70 kmph were recorded at the IGIA at 7am. Normal occurrence days of such weather activity in Delhi-NCR and adjoining regions are around 12 to 14 days between March and May. However, this season has seen only four to five episodes so far and those, too mostly, dry thunder, the IMD said.
As per the Safdarjung observatory the Capital city has recorded 12 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. The weather department predicted that there will be no significant change in maximum temperatures over most parts of Northwest and Central India during the next two days.
Earlier, the IMD issued an alert asking residents to stay indoors due to the impact of the thunderstorm in Delhi and neighbourhood areas warning that it could cause damage to vulnerable structures, kutcha houses, and traffic disruptions. It also warned that loose objects are likely to fly and people should not take shelter under trees.
IMD scientist R K Jenamani said that the heat wave conditions, which the capital was witnessing over the last few weeks, are likely to remain suppressed till May 29 or 30.