New Delhi: At least six flights were diverted due to poor visibility after a dust storm lashed Delhi airport late in the evening on Monday, said sources as quoted by news agency ANI.
A Vistara plane from Mumbai and two Alliance Air flights - - one from Jaipur and one from Lucknow itself - - were redirected to the Lucknow air terminal on Monday evening, they said.
"Few flights have been diverted for safe landing and other delayed. The regular flight operations will be commenced as strong winds settle down," they added.
IndiGo's two flights - - one from Jabalpur and one from Patna - - were redirected to the Jaipur air terminal, they said.
Air India's service from Vadodara was likewise redirected to the Jaipur air terminal, they said.
The arrival and departure of many more services from the Delhi airport were delayed due to thunderstorms, they stated.
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Earlier on Monday, people witnessed an onslaught of the heat wave as the temperature in New Delhi and some other places rises above 40 degrees Celsius. The Meteorological Department has also issued a yellow alert giving a forecast of severe heat wave from April 28 to May 1.
Delhi's maximum temperature was recorded at 40.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 22.7 degrees Celsius amid scorching sunshine throughout the day on Monday. The humidity level in the air ranged from 19 to 58 percent.
On Monday, the air of Delhi-NCR was recorded in the poor category. According to the Air Quality Bulletin released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air index of Delhi stood at 244. In NCR, the air index of Faridabad was recorded at 270, Ghaziabad 209, Greater Noida 216, Gurugram 234 and Noida 229. The level of PM 2.5 in Delhi was recorded at 96 while the level of PM 10 was recorded at 255 micrograms per cubic metre.