Nine flights diverted as massive dust storm hits Delhi, two dead, three injured

A massive dust storm hit Delhi-NCR on Friday night, wreaking havoc across the national capital. According to the reports, the storm killed at least two people while around six were injured due to the uprooting of trees.

This also led to a diversion of over nine flight which included two Air India flights, bound for Delhi to be diverted to Jaipur because of a sudden change in the weather.

Delhi police was flooded with phone calls from across the city where they received over 200 calls for power-related disruptions in the city, over 150 calls for tree uprooting related incidents and more than 50 calls for damages concerning the buildings.

The national capital was being swept by gusts of wind reaching speeds of 60–70 kmph, which caused trees to rustle fiercely. There were many reports of trees falling in various locations, causing traffic congestion.

Three were injured when a massive signboard in Dwarka, Delhi, collapsed on two cars, one of which was an ambulance. The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) transported the injured, which included two ambulance occupants and an auto driver, to the hospital.

Teams from the police and other rescue agencies were sent to the location. The rubble was removed using a crane.

The abrupt dust storm as the meteorological service told was due to the western disturbance. The dust storm provided much-needed respite from the soaring heat and humidity that had been crippling Delhi.

On Friday, the MeT department had forecasted the possibility of dust storms and thunderstorms, with isolated areas of light rain and hailstorms.

On Saturday, the lowest and minimum temperatures are probably going to be 39 and 29 degrees Celsius, respectively. The department has also predicted a high change of rain over the weekend.