The red warning in Delhi was for a “severe thunderstorm” with maximum surface winds between 62 and 87 kilometers per hour and hail, along with a dust storm and rain.
Residents of Delhi-NCR on Saturday received some respite from the scorching heat in the form of rain, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) put parts of the city and its adjoining areas under red alert due to “severe” thunderstorms as well as dust storms.
According to the IMD weather forecast seen at around 4:30 pm on Saturday, North, North-West, West and South-West Delhi areas were on red alert, while the rest of the city was placed under orange alert.
The red warning was for a “severe thunderstorm” with surface winds reaching a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and hail, along with a dust storm and rain.
Besides Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh were also under red and orange warning respectively, while yellow warning was in force in Gurugram in Haryana, according to IMD’s nowcast.
Dust storm in Rajasthan
Meanwhile, frightening images of a huge dust storm sweeping parts of Rajasthan have also emerged on social media.
Over the weekend, the International Meteorological Department expected a temporary easing in the heat, and issued a yellow alert earlier for rain and thunderstorms.
Light to light rain and thunderstorms are also expected on Sunday as well, with wind speeds of around 40-50 kmph in the morning. The International Meteorological Institute expected the sky to be partly cloudy on Monday and Tuesday, while the sky will remain mainly clear from Wednesday to Friday.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 24.6 degrees Celsius on Friday, and the maximum is expected to range between 35 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius. Temperatures are expected to rise again from June 1 and are likely to reach 40°C to 42°C by Thursday, June 4.
Videos purportedly from Churu and Bikaner showed a heavy, moving sandstorm covering parts of the city.
