NEW DELHI: An intense dust storm, followed by intense showers and hail hit the capital on Wednesday evening, impacting flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI).
At least 10 flights were diverted to nearby airports, and over 50 flights delayed between 7:45pm and 8:45pm, officials aware of the matter said.
“At least 10 flights were diverted, mainly to Jaipur. One flight was also diverted to Mumbai,” said an airport official.
The flights were impacted due to wind shear -- strong winds blowing in the opposing direction and rain, officials said. Both take-offs and landings are impacted in such a scenario.
IMD officials said a peak wind speed of 74 km/hr was reported at around 8 pm. Palam also recorded a sharp drop in temperature — from 37°C at 7:30 pm to 23°C at 8:30 pm.
On the same day, a Delhi to Srinagar flight was also caught in turbulence, leading to an emergency landing at the Srinagar airport at around 6:30 pm. Visuals of a damaged nose of the aircraft, which had over 220 people on-board, also surfaced online.
In a post on X, Air India issued a travel advisory asking passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for the journey.
{{/usCountry}}In a post on X, Air India issued a travel advisory asking passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for the journey.
{{/usCountry}}Indigo said heavy rains and thunderstorms in Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata was impacting flights and asked passengers to check their flight status before heading for the airport.
The IMD had forecast a hot and humid day on Wednesday, with chances of a dust storm and thunderstorm towards the evening with winds likely to touch 50 km/hr, it had initially said.
There are chances of a similar dust storm and thunderstorm on Friday as well with gusty winds likely to touch 50 km/hr. No such storm is forecast on Thursday.
IMD scientist Krishna Mishra attributed Wednesday's intense dust storm followed by a thunderstorm, to a cyclonic circulation over Haryana which was embedded in an east-west trough from Punjab to Bangladesh in lower tropospheric levels.
Mishra said moisture feed was taking place to this trough from both the Arabian Sea as well as the Bay of Bengal.
There was also a sharp fall in temperature following this spell, dipping from 37°C at around 7:30 pm at Palam to 23°C at 8:30 pm. IMD data showed 12.1mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung till 8:30 pm; 2.1mm at Palam; 13.5mm at Mayur Vihar and 5mm at Pitampura.
During the spell, several trees were also uprooted, causing traffic diversions.
A senior Traffic police officer said vehicular movement was majorly affected on the Mathura Road. The carriageway from Neela Gumbad to Ashram was choked as a tree fell in the middle of the road. Another tree fell on Teen Murti Marg. “Nobody was injured.”