The surrounding regions of Delhi and the entire National Capital Region experienced a sigh of relief on Saturday when thunderstorms accompanied by light to moderate rainfall occurred. The sudden changes in the weather come with gusty winds covering mostly isolated places of the region.
Visuals of thunderstorm and rain surfaced on social media.
Due to the bad weather, a total of 22 flights were diverted at the Delhi airport on Saturday evening, news agency PTI reported officials as saying. The diversions happened after 5 pm, the official told PTI.
Among the flights, 9 were rerouted to Jaipur, 8 to Lucknow, 2 to Chandigarh, and 1 each to Varanasi, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad, according to officials.
Out of the diverted flights, there were 9 from IndiGo, 8 from Air India, and 3 from Vistara. These diversions occurred between 3:00 PM and 6:30 PM, as per the official.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi handles around 1,300 flight movements daily.
Moderate To Severe Thunderstorms Over Northwest India During 13-15 April: IMD
Earlier in the day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) took and informed that thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain with heavy intensity rain over isolated places and "gusty winds with speed of 30-50 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi and NCR ( Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, Ballabhgarh) Gohana, Hansi, Meham, Sonipat, Tosham, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Sohana, Rewari, Bawal (Haryana) Baraut, Bagpat, Khekra, Modinagar, Pilakhua, Sikandrabad (U.P.) Bhiwari (Rajasthan) during the next 2 hours."
A similar post on Saturday, mentioned, "Moderate to severe thunderstorms, gusty winds, hail, lightning likely over Northwest India during 13-15 April & hail and light to moderate rainfall continue over Central India on today."
Similarly, parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala received rainfall on Friday amid scorching heat. Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted that light to moderate rainfall with strong winds to be experienced in Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal from April 11 to 15.
The IMD said, "Isolated light/moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm, lightning & gusty winds (30-40 kmph) very likely over Telangana, Kerala & Mahe, Interior Karnataka during next 7 days and over Coastal Andhra Pradesh-Yanam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry-Karaikal during April 12-15, 2024."
On Friday, reports highlighted that rain showers drowned various areas of Thiruvananthapuram city offering a reprieve to residents from the relentless heat. In Kerala, Mavelikkara received the highest rainfall with 9 cm followed by Kumarakom with 6 cm, Kurudamannil with 5 cm, Kottayam and Karumadi with 4 cm each.
In Tamil Nadu, Kumbakonam, and Madurai among other places received mild rain. Previously, the Regional Meteorological Centre forecasted the possibility of moderate rain in 13 districts of Tamil Nadu including Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Tenkasi.