Dust Storm Hits Delhi: Strong Winds in NCR, Rains Likely Today; Several Flights Delayed
According to Skymet, the weather in Delhi is caused due to the western disturbances over North Pakistan and parts of Jammu & Kashmir.
New Delhi, April 7: The national capital region on Friday was struck with a severe dust storm which led to the weather taking an acute turn. According to the meteorological department, the storm's impact will be felt today as well as strong winds are likely to continue in Delhi combined with sporadic rainfall.
Although the dust storm brought respite from scorching heat in the NCR - which has remained at least 2 degrees above normal since the last month - it has led to severe complications for air carriers as 24 flights were diverted in the last 18 hours.
Most of the flights were diverted to Amritsar, nearly 450-km from Delhi. Domestic carrier Vistara appealed commuters using its Delhi-bound flights to maintain calm as the weather continues to remain rough in the NCR.
Here's a clip of Delhi motorists storming the dust storm:
"Passengers advised to be patient as we are doing the best we can. Weather not in our control and airport also has constraints in handling so many unexpected flights and passengers," Vistara's Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said.
The temperature dropped to 21 degrees on Saturday morning, which is nearly 5 degrees below the season's average. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature came down yesterday to 36 degree celsius, nearly 2 degrees below the average.
India Gate looks even more iconic:
Delhiites were also subjected to cleaner air since last evening as a massive proportion of PM10 and PM2.5 particulates were blown away due to the strong winds.
The Safdarjung Laboratory claims that the winds in NCR blew as high as 81 km/hr at 5:30 pm yesterday.
According to Skymet, the weather in Delhi is caused due to the western disturbances over North Pakistan and parts of Jammu & Kashmir. Due to its effect, sporadic amount of rainfall could be witnessed in other parts of the nation, it said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2018 09:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).