NEW DELHI: IMD expects the relief from heat to continue on Saturday as well, after a powerful thunderstorm with winds touching 84 kmph hit Delhi on Friday evening, disrupting flights, traffic, and power supply while offering a sharp drop in temperature.
The storm caused widespread disruption—grounding flights, toppling trees, cutting power lines, and jamming traffic across several parts of the capital. At the airport, 35 incoming flights were diverted and more than 100 others delayed as air traffic control halted operations for nearly 30 minutes.
Roads were no better. Uprooted trees choked busy stretches like Mathura Road, Lodhi Road, Janakpuri, Okhla, Najafgarh and Dwarka, with vehicles damaged in some areas, including one incident in Janakpuri where a van was crushed by a fallen tree. NDMC and MCD received numerous complaints about trees being brought down across areas such as Jor Bagh, Hanuman Road, Mohan Singh Place, and Shahdara.
Wind speeds varied across the city—touching 84 kmph in southwest Delhi, 74 kmph near IGI Airport, and 70 kmph at Pragati Maidan. Weather stations recorded light showers: 5mm in Narela and 2.5mm in Pitampura.
The storm brought down the maximum temperature at Safdarjung from 39.6°C on Thursday to 35.8°C on Friday, while Lodhi Road saw a sharp dip from 31°C to 24°C in just 30 minutes post 6.15pm.
According to IMD scientists, the thunderstorm was triggered by a western disturbance that caused dry mid-level winds to collide with moist lower-level winds from the Arabian Sea—a perfect recipe for thunderstorm formation.
Power supply was hit in several areas after tree branches damaged power lines. BSES and Tata Power-DDL said their teams were deployed promptly to restore electricity, with some delays in areas like Narela, Bawana, Badli, and Mangolpuri due to safety concerns.
In Gurgaon, a gantry on the Dwarka Expressway collapsed during the storm, landing on a moving car. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or damage. The structure was quickly removed, and traffic has since resumed.
