4 Killed, Over 120 Flights Delayed After Heavy Rain In Delhi-NCR

Strong winds, dust storms, and heavy rainfall in Delhi and the NCR caused delays for around 120 flights this morning. In a tragic rain-related incident, a woman and her three children lost their lives when a tree, uprooted by strong winds, fell on their room in Dwarka, Delhi.

Three flights were diverted to Ahmedabad and Jaipur ahead of their arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport. A Bangalore-Delhi and another Pune-Delhi flights were among those diverted to Jaipur. The Delhi airport witnessed average delays of 21 minutes for arrivals and 61 minutes for departures, per FlightRadar. Over 20 flights departing from Delhi are running late.

The Delhi airport assured efforts by the ground staff to ensure a seamless experience, while multiple airlines urged passengers to check the latest status of their flights before heading to the airport.

“Bad weather in Delhi is causing delays and diversions to some of our flights, which will likely impact our overall schedule. We are doing our best to minimize disruptions,” Air India said in its statement on X.

Strong winds caused trees to fall on wires, delaying around 15 to 20 trains and disrupting railway operations in the Delhi division.

Many parts of Delhi, including Dwarka, Khanpur, South Extension Ring Road, Minto Road, Lajpat Nagar, and Moti Bagh, experienced waterlogging, as visuals emerged from these areas.

The winds uprooted trees and broke off branches, though officials have yet to assess the damage to property. Authorities have advised people to assess the weather and stay indoors as far as possible.

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Delhi-NCR Lashed by Heavy Rains and Storms, Flights Disrupted and Yellow Alert Issued

The India Meteorological Department’s Nowcast reported that Delhi was experiencing a temperature of 19.8 degrees Celsius and forecast heavy rains, storms, and winds of up to 70-80 kmph across the city.

According to IMD data, in the last three hours, the Safdarjung weather station, the city’s primary observatory, recorded 77mm of rainfall. Lodhi road recorded 78 mm, Palam recorded 30 mm, Najafgarh 19.5 mm, and Pitampura 32 mm of rainfall.

The weather department has issued a yellow alert for the national capital till Saturday, forecasting heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds.

On Wednesday evening, the sky had turned cloudy, with the city recording a maximum temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius, 0.9 notch below the season’s average.

The weather comes as a relief when the IMD said most parts of India are likely to see above-normal temperatures in May, only to get respite from occasional thunderstorms.

Rainfall over  north India is expected to be above normal, more than 109 per cent of the long-period average of 64.1 mm. Frequent and intense thunderstorms in May will likely prevent temperatures from rising to the levels seen in May 2024, per the IMD.

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