The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad, as strong winds and a dust storm hit the capital region once again. According to IMD, moderate rain with thunderstorms and a dust storm is expected over the NCR region during the next hour.
In Noida, strong winds hit the city, a day after a dust storm killed more than 100 people in 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, residents in parts of Delhi also reported a dust storm in the early hours of Friday morning.
The IMD issues an orange alert
As of 2:45 AM EST, the IMD Orange Alert is currently active for –
- North Delhi
- North-west Delhi
- Central Delhi
- West Delhi
- Southwest Delhi
- New Delhi
- South Delhi
- Southeast Delhi
- East Delhi
- Shehadara
- Northeast Delhi
- Gautam Budh Nagar
- Ghaziabad
Delhi-NCR witnesses extreme weather changes
The weather on Wednesday changed dramatically in the national capital as the IMD recorded wind speeds reaching 100 km/h. Strong winds were accompanied by heavy rain and hailstorms in parts of Delhi.
The change in weather also disrupted flight operations at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, with more than 500 flights delayed, 15 flights diverted, and six flights forced to “detour” due to inclement weather.
“We had very strong winds, reaching speeds of up to 98 km/h. There was also a drop in temperature after 8 pm in most parts of the city by 10-11 degrees,” an IMD official told HT.
However, the IMD official added that temperatures are expected to rise across Delhi and the NCR during the rest of the week.
