New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's flight was among 11 flights that were diverted to Agra due to bad weather in the national capital on Friday, news agency ANI reported sources as saying. According to ANI sources, the Defence Minister was heading back to Delhi after attending an event at Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Gujarat's Vadodara where he addressed a public gathering. "At least 11 flights including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's flight scheduled to land in Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport were diverted to Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Agra due to the unfavourable weather conditions, " ANI quoted sources as saying.
Delhi airport authority also took to Twitter and advised passengers to get in touch with the airline concerned for updated flight information.
Rains in parts of Delhi on Friday brought in much-needed relief from the scorching heat as the drizzle and the breeze resulted in a dip in temperature.
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No Heatwave Predicted In Delhi For A Week
A heatwave seared Delhi on Friday before the thundershowers and gusty winds brought some respite towards the evening.
Delhi's primary weather station, Safdarjung Observatory, recorded a maximum temperature of 44.4 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal, news agency PTI reported.
It had logged a high of 45.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the highest so far this year.
The mercury jumped to 47.5 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh in southwest Delhi and 47.1 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur in the northwestern parts of the city. The weather stations at Pitampura, Sports Complex, Jafarpur, Ridge and Palam saw the mercury leaping to 47 degrees Celsius, 46.2 degrees Celsius, 46.1 degrees Celsius, 46 degrees Celsius, 45.7 degrees Celsius and 45.1 degrees Celsius respectively.
A partly cloudy sky, a drizzle, and hail brought temporary relief to some parts of the city in the evening.
A fresh western disturbance will lead to rain and thunderstorms in northwest India starting Sunday. As a result, the maximum temperature in Delhi will drop to 37 degrees Celsius by Tuesday.
"Back-to-back western disturbances will continue to give intermittent respite from the heat. No heatwave is likely for a week," said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.
On Sunday, Delhi saw a tormenting heatwave pushing the mercury to 49.2 degrees Celsius at Munge.