A high-velocity dust storm accompanied with gusty winds and squall hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday evening leaving 2 dead and several others injured. The sudden change in weather brought the mercury a few notches down in Delhi, Noida and Gurugram, MET sources said.
The massive storm with a wind speed of 120 km per hour uprooted several trees and electricity poles, dipped the visibility and brought traffic to a standstill, while pedestrians rushed to seek shelter.
Commuters complained of delay in Metro services and the hailstorm disrupted electric supply in parts of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a fresh warning regarding low to moderate rains along with heavy winds in different parts of the country: Delhi, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwadi, Sohna, Hodal Palwal, Jhajjar, Manesar, Gurgaon, Noah, Hasanpur, Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, Aurgabdaligadh, Kharakhauda, Sonepat, Baghpat, Badaut, Gohana, Modinagar, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Khurja Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut in the next two hours.
Read | Thunderstorms updates: High-velocity dust storm wreak havoc in 4 states; claims over 50 lives across India
In the wake of this massive storm, flight movement at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport has been put on hold, according to Airport Authority sources. The storm interrupted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's programme in Delhi's IP Extension.
Earlier in the day, the IMD predicted fall in mercury from Sunday onwards.
Several parts of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are also likely to witness another spell of thundershowers and dust storms accompanied with gusty winds and squall in the next few 48 hours.
The thunderstorms, which is the result of a new western disturbance in the Mediterranean Sea, lashed the northern parts of India along with low to moderate rains.
"Thunderstorms will also hit the South, but they won't be as strong," said M Mohapatra, head of services, IMD.
Here are the LIVE updates on Delhi Thunderstorms:
Death toll rises to 53 and over 65 people have been injured due to the thunderstorm across India.
# 10:12 PM: Trees in Delhi's Dhaula Kuan area have fallen down after heavy rainfall and thunderstorm struck the region.
# 10:00 PM: Lightning kills 8 people in Kolkata. Out of eight, four were children.
# 09:57 PM: 2 people dead and 18 people injured in Delhi due to a dust storm.
# 09:50 PM: 1 woman dead and 18 people injured in Delhi due to a dust storm.
# 09:47 PM: Heavy rainfall and lightning kill 4 children in WestBengal's Howrah.
# 09:45 PM: Ghaziabad: One killed, 4 injured after a tree fell on them near Lal Kuan Shiv temple during the thunderstorm.
# 09:40 PM: 1 woman dead and 1 man seriously injured after a hoarding fell on them due to the heavy dust storm in Greater Noida.
# 09:38 PM: 18 dead and 34 injured in Uttar Pradesh after a thunderstorm hit the state.
# 09:08 PM: Number of flight diversions at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to bad weather conditions goes up to 70.
# 08:01 PM: Six people lost their lives in Srikakulam, one in Vizianagaram and one in Kadapa district due to the thunderstorm: Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management.
# 07:38 PM: Lightning and thunderstorm claim five lives in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district, according to NDMA.
# 07:16 PM: Delhi: Metro services between Indraprastha and Karol Bagh metro stations disrupted after a tree fell on the tracks of the route between Rajiv Chowk to RK Ashram metro stations.
# 07:11 PM: More than 40 flight diversions at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport as bad weather conditions continue in the region.
# 07:08 PM: Dust storm lashed Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.
# 07:03 PM: Dust storm hits Kanpur.
# 06:42 PM: "We had forecasted that the weather will be adverse for 2-3 days. This thunderstorm will continue for the next 48 to 72 hours," said Charan Singh, Scientist, Indian Meteorological Department on weather change.
# 06:34 PM:
# 06:00 PM: Dust storm badly hit Blue Line metro services. People are leaving the metro as it has not been moving since last half an hour. The concerned authority will take some time to restore.
# 05:41 PM: Metro at Botanical Garden station stuck for 15 minutes. An announcement has been made that due to the technical issue, services will be delayed.
# 05:38 PM: 10 flight diversions at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport so far due to bad weather conditions.
# 05:36 PM: Metro movement at the Noida Dwaraka line was stalled for 30 minutes due to bad weather conditions. The movement has now resumed. #Delhi.
# 05:30 PM: Dust storm hits Ghaziabad.
# 05:25 PM: Flight movements at #Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport put on hold, due to the thunderstorm.
# 05:22 PM: Delhi: Dust storm, strong winds and rainfall hit the national capital.
# 05:19 PM: Vistara's Srinagar flight to Delhi has been diverted to Amritsar following bad weather conditions in Delhi.
# 05:08 PM: Storm interrupts CM Arvind Kejriwal's programme in Delhi's IP Extension.
# 05:04 PM: Haryana: Skies in Faridabad turn dark as strong winds and dust storm hit the region.
# 05:00 PM: Delhi: Strong winds and dust storm hits the region, visuals from RK Puram area.
# 04:51 PM: Dust storm hits the National Capital Region (NCR). Visuals from Delhi's Vijay Chowk.
# 04:40 PM: Weather took a turn in Gurugram as strong winds hit the city this afternoon. #Haryana.
National Disaster Managment Authority (NDMA) issues Thunderstorm alert to stay safe:
Moreover, the Southwest Monsoon is expected to hit Kerala on May 28, predicted private weather forecasting agency Skymet.
The monsoon will reach the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 20 and is expected to advance further to Sri Lanka and over East Central Bay of Bengal on May 24, Mahesh Palawat, Vice President (Meteorology and Climate Change) of Skymet, said.
However, be it the upcoming Monsoon or high-velocity duststorms, it will give no relief to people in Vidarbha, parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
While the maximum temperature in Chandrapur shot up to 47.3 degree Celsius on Friday, mercury may hit 43 degree Celsius with heat waves spread across the National Capital region in mid May.
"Maximum temperatures are likely to rise over plains of northwest India and central parts of the country would be above 42 degree Celsius in the second week of May," IMD official said.
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