A squall with wind speed over 100 kmph hit the Capital on Sunday evening reducing visibility, mobility and causing damage to property. The sky turned overcast by 4 p.m. and gusts of wind started blowing by 4.30 p.m. and continued intermittently till 10 p.m. The MeT Department said that the strongest gust of wind reached a speed of 109 kmph.
More than 180 flights were affected at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. As many as 62 flights, including at least four international ones were diverted to nearby airports. Nearly 114 domestic and nine international flights were also delayed. A total of four flights were cancelled.
“There were no landings or take-offs at the airport for 40 minutes. In two and a half hours there were only two landings, as compared to an average of 36-37 landings per hour. The operations at the airport are badly affected,” said an airport official on the condition of anonymity.
He added that it may take the entire night to recover from the impact of the storm as aircraft diverted to nearby airports are allowed to land at IGI.
Ooperations hampered
An official of the Indian Meteorological Department said, while visibility was well above the minimum requirements at IGI, the airport witnessed strong winds hampering operations. “There was squall and moderate thunderstorm. Visibility was at 1,500 metres, but winds were blowing at 52 knot,” according to IMD director R.K. Jenamani.
Four incidents of wall collapse were reported from Najafgarh, Transit Camp, Nehru Place, Mohan Garden in Uttam Nagar and Raj Nagar in Palam, said a senior officer from the Delhi Fire Service. Northern Railway also reported disruptions due to falling of trees on the track.
OHE wire damaged
Delhi Metro services were affected at several stations on the Violet and Blue Lines after trees fell on overhead electricity (OHE) wires. “Services on the Violet Line were affected for 40 minutes as trains ran in two loops between Sarita Vihar and Escorts Mujesar, and between Nehru Place and Kashmere Gate stations from 5 p.m. to 5.40 p.m. This was necessitated due to falling of a tree on OHE wires between Okhla and Jasola stations due to the thunderstorm. The service normalised at 5.40 p.m.,” the DMRC said in a statement.
While on the Blue Line, services between Noida Sector-16 to Noida City Centre were not available between 5.15 p.m. and 6.50 p.m. due to damage to OHE wire on down section of the Blue Line (towards Noida). The DMRC also said service between Indraprastha and Karol Bagh (on the Blue Line) were not available from 5.15 pm due to a tree falling on the overhead electricity (OHE) wires of the up section of the line (towards Dwarka) between Rajiv Chowk and RK Ashram and it was restored at 7.37 p.m.
Rainfall recorded
The storm brought down the temperature in the city that has been constantly on the rise during the week leading to the hottest day of the season. The maximum temperature recorded was 40.8 degrees Celsius that was one degree above normal but it fell drastically after clouds began to gather by evening.
The MeT department said that the Safdarjung station recorded 4.2 mm of rain while the stations at Palam, Ayanagar and Lodhi Colony recorded, 0.8 mm, 6.4 mm and 4,2 mm respectively up till 6.30 p.m.
The MeT department has forecast party cloudy sky for May 14 with the possibility of very light rain towards the afternoon/evening. The maximum temperature is expected to be 38 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 23 degrees Celsius. The minimum on Saturday night was 30.6 degrees Celsius.
