Massive Dust Storm Brings Relief From Scorching Heat in Delhi-NCR

Delhiites can expect some relief from the sweltering heat as Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) were hit by a massive dust storm and thunderstorm on Friday evening. The city and adjoining areas had been reeling under a heatwave, and gusty winds have brought much-needed relief.

Several Delhiites to social media to post images and videos of the sudden change in weather, showing trees rustling ferociously as sandy air swept through the national capital.

Strong winds uprooted trees and traffic lights in many areas leading to traffic snarls. As per Delhi police, traffic is affected in the carriageway from Dwarka Mor towards Dwarka 3/13 red light after a heavy pole fell due to the dust storm.

Traffic was also affected on MD Marg in the carriageway from NH-48 towards Kapashera Chowk, Dharam Marg in Janak Puri, and Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg in the carriageway from PS Timar Pur towards Wazirabad Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg in the carriageway from PS Timar Pur towards Wazirabad, due to uprooting of trees.

Several cars were also damaged after a shuttering installed to repair a building in Sector 58 of Noida blew off due to gusty winds.

At Delhi airport, two Air India flights were diverted to Jaipur due to the sudden turn of weather.

Meanwhile, amid the sudden change in weather, Indigo airline has warned its passengers of changes in flight schedules and asked them to check their flight status before they head to the airport.

“Strong winds and good rains ahead for #Delhi. While you enjoy the cool weather, do keep a tab on your flight status https://bit.ly/3DNYJqj before you head to the airport,” the airline said in a post on X.

Delhi NCR… आंधी…#delhi #noida #ncr #storm #Duststorm #thunderstorm pic.twitter.com/UrDMY83Emk

Earlier, the  India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted the possibility of a dust storm and thunderstorm accompanied by rain in Delhi-NCR.

“India Meteorological Department tweets, “Duststorm/ thunderstorm with rain (followed by rain) and gusty winds with speed of 50-70 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi and NCR (Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad),” the weatherman said.

It further said light intensity rain/drizzle is likely over and adjoining areas of Kaithal, Narwana, Rajaund, Assandh, Safidon, Barwala, Jind, Hissar, Hansi, Siwani, Meham, Tosham (Haryana).

The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 39 degrees Celsius on Friday, normal for this time of the year, according to IMD. The relative humidity oscillated between 47 and 64 per cent during the day, it said.

“Due to the new active western disturbance, the capital will experience drizzle late Friday night, with a high chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday,” Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and head of the Regional Meteorological Centre said.

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