The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad as strong winds and a dust storm hit the capital region yet again. According to the IMD, moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and a dust storm is expected over the NCR region for the next hour.
Commuters make their way through a haze-filled road in Noida during a dust storm (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)
In Noida, strong winds hit the city, a day after a dust storm killed over 100 people across 25 districts in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, in parts of Delhi, residents also reported a dust storm in the early hours of Friday.
IMD issues orange alert
As per the latest update, the orange alert issued by the IMD is currently active for –
North DelhiNorth West DelhiCentral DelhiWest DelhiSouth West DelhiNew DelhiSouth DelhiSouth East DelhiEast DelhiShahadraNorth East Delhi
Meanwhile, a yellow alert is active for light rain in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad.
Delhi-NCR sees intense weather changes
On Wednesday, the weather changed dramatically in the national capital with the IMD recording winds reaching up to 100 km/hr. The strong winds were accompanied by heavy rain and a hailstorm in parts of Delhi.
The weather shift also disrupted flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, with over 500 flights delayed, 15 diverted and six flights forced to “go around” due to bad weather.
“We had extremely strong winds, touching 98km/hr. There was also a dip in temperature after 8pm across most parts of the city by 10-11 degrees,” an IMD official told HT.
However, the IMD official added over the rest of the week, temperatures across Delhi-NCR are expected to rise.