At 100kmph, full-blown storm cools Delhi-NCR

NEW DELHI: For the first time in June, the mercury crossed the 40-degree mark on Tuesday and rose to a maximum of 41.5 degrees a day later. However, the heat was short-lived as the skies turned overcast on Wednesday evening and a short and intense rain spell struck Delhi-NCR.
Fierce winds blew at 100 kmph in parts of east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad ending in a number of trees getting uprooted, said Met officials. IMD said the temperatures are expected to drop to 35 degrees in the coming days with rain expected till June 15-16. “A similar spell of light rain and gusty winds may be experienced on Thursday, but the intensity will be lower,” said an official.

Visuals from Mayur Vihar
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head of Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said the Palam station recorded wind speed of 40 kmph. “However, the thunderstorm was more intense over Noida and Ghaziabad with wind speed crossing morethan 100 kmph. There was a drop of 7 degrees in temperature at Palam reaching 30 degrees Celsius in an hour. Similarly, it dropped by four degrees at Safdarjung, from 38 to 34 degrees Celsius.”
“The short spell of rain was due to a low pressure area that now exists as a trough from north Pakistan to Bay of Bengal. A cyclonic circulation formed over north Rajasthan also added to the intense spell,” Srivastava added.
Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, the Safdarjung observatory recorded “trace” rainfall, while Lodhi Road received 0.5mm of rainfall. The maximum temperature at Palam was recorded at 43.6 degrees Celsius. Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index was in the “moderate” range on Wednesday till 4pm with a reading of 152. However, this is forecast to improve in the next few days.
Reports of trees being uprooted, hoardings collapsing and power cuts came from different areas, but most of the damage was restricted to east Delhi with traffic flow being disrupted at both DND Flyway and Kalindi Kunj border.
Noida traffic police said a hoarding fell on DND Flyway causing an obstruction on the route. The traffic at Kalindi Kunj border was also impacted due to a tree falling on the road. Delhi Traffic Police also reported multiple instances of broken trees causing traffic disruption. The department tweeted: “Broken tree has disrupted the passage at road leading from IP flyover to Sarai Kale Khan due to which traffic flow is affected.”
The monsoon report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation stated that trees fell in Aurobindo Market near Safdarjung Development Area, DDA Flats Munirka, Pocket-1 Paschimpuri, B-Block East of Kailash, A-Block and G-Block Nizamuddin West, C-Block DDA shopping complex Moolchand, Jangpura B-Block near Mathura Road and Bilaspur Camp Badarpur.
Residents from Punjabi Colony in Narela complained about a tree falling on a streetlight in Sector B-4 of Pocket 6. A tree also collapsed in Mayur Vihar-II after the storm. “Broken tree is likely to fall and damage junction box. Take action before damage to junction box,” local residents tweeted to the power distribution company. Residents of Mithapur Chowk also reported about a eucalyptus tree falling on the power lines disrupting supply to the region for over an hour.
Residents of Allahabad Bank Apartments, a housing society on the Delhi border, reported that a tree fell and broke their boundary wall adjoining Noida Sector 14. Sudha Sinha, president of cooperative group housing societies, said keekar trees fell down because lack of pruning had made them weak.