The overnight rain and thunderstorm in Delhi gave relief to the people from the humid heat, but also increased the trouble. Aircraft operations were interrupted, trees and electric poles were uprooted and waterlogging occurred in many areas.
Due to the sudden change in the weather, the mercury declined drastically and the minimum temperature of the national capital was recorded at 19.8 degrees Celsius, which is 6.9 degrees below normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the major weather center of Delhi recorded 81.2 mm of rainfall between 11.30 am to 5.30 am in six hours and during this period, winds at a speed of 82 km per hour.
Palam received 68.1 mm, 71 mm in Pusa, 48 mm in Mayur Vihar, 30 mm in Narela and 29 mm in Delhi University. Many areas of Delhi including Moti Bagh, Minto Road, ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Cantonment, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and Chanakyapuri were partially waterlogged.
A car and a bus were almost completely submerged in a ‘underpass’ in Delhi Cantonment area. Similar scenes also appeared in the video aired on social media which are allegedly from Minto Road area.
The Meteorological Department had released a ‘Red Alert’ on Saturday night warnings about the storm from west and north-west. It had predicted strong thunderstorms or dusty winds and frequent cloud roaring and strong winds.
Many parts of the national capital led to strong winds. Winds at Palam at 72 kmph, 76 kmph in Pragati Maidan, 61 kmph in Jafarpur and 50 km per hour in IGNOU.
After heavy rains with the storm, the temperature of Delhi fell rapidly between the midnight between 1.15 am to 2.30 pm. The temperature in Safdarjung fell from 31 ° C to 21 ° C, while in Palam it fell from 29 ° C to 22 ° C.
The temperature in Pusa fell from 31.8 ° C to 20.5 ° C, Pragati Maidan fell from 31.4 ° C to 21.3 ° C and Lodhi Road fell from 31 ° C to 22.3 ° C to 22.3 ° C. The Meteorological Department has estimated rain with thunderstorms for Sunday, expecting the maximum temperature to be around 38 degrees Celsius.
Sources said that due to bad weather, 49 aircraft including 17 international flights were converted to the country’s largest Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Waterlogging is also reported on the terminal-three of the airport.
According to the website ‘Flyterdar 24.com’, which monitored the aircraft, the operation of around 180 flights at the airport was delayed and some had to cancel.