Thunderstorm, rains lash Delhi-NCR, several flights delayed, traffic hit

Delhi and its satellite cities on Monday witnessed the season's first moderate intensity thunderstorm with wind speed up to 70 km per hour that threw the road and air traffic out of gear and slashed the capital's temperature by a huge 11 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department considers the onset of summer from March 1 and anticipates 12-14 thunderstorms in the National Capital Region between March and May. “But in this season, there has been only 4-5 such storms so far and those were dry thunder mostly,” said an IMD official.

“The Monday morning thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and rains reported over Delhi is the first storm of moderate intensity of this season.”

One of its tremendous impacts was a drastic fall of surface temperature, which slipped by 11 notches from 29 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius between 5.40 am and 7 am.

Also Read | Gurugram issues Work-From-Home advisory to pvt institutions, offices amid rain

For the next two days there would not be any change in maximum temperature in northwest and central India. Also there won’t be any heatwave anywhere in the north barring a few pockets in west Rajasthan.

The streets of Gurugram turned into a river with the sudden huge downpour with the tech hub receiving 70 mm rain early in the morning. Neighbouring Faridabad received 90 mm.

The Haryana administration and Gurugram Traffic Police issued advisory to private institutions, and corporate offices urging them to guide their employees to work from home in order to avoid traffic congestion on roads. Large parts of the NCR witnessed traffic snarls that continued for the better part of the day.

At least 19 flights have been diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Amritsar, and Mumbai, according to Delhi airport sources. Among the five major weather stations in Delhi, the maximum rainfall was recorded in Ayanagar (52.2 mm) and Palam (27.6 mm).

Caused by a Western Disturbance – a storm that originates in the Mediterranean and travels across Asia – such a huge thunderstorm and rainfall are unlikely on Tuesday. But isolated rainfall, thunder squall and hail storms may occur in the northern states.