Flight services affected for 35 minutes in Delhi as severe dust storm hits capital; IMD predicts rainfall soon in NCR

Flight operations at the Delhi International Airport were suspended for around 35 minutes as a severe dust storm hit the city Wednesday evening, airport officials said. “The dust storm hit the Delhi airport at 6.39 pm today. The last flight arrival at the Delhi airport was at 6.36 pm. The last departure at the airport was at 6.38 pm,” the officials said. Till 7.15 pm, total nine flights were diverted from the airport, they added. [caption id=“attachment_6802521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  People caught in a dust storm in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI[/caption] “The airport resumed flight operations at 7.15 pm,” the officials said. Later during the day, the officials said total 27 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport till 7.50 pm. Among the diverted flights was the Vistara Mumbai-Delhi flight. Even though the scheduled landing time in Delhi was 6.15 pm, the flight was diverted to Lucknow, where it landed after 7.45 pm. A severe dust storm hit several parts of the national capital Wednesday evening, following which a thick haze was hanging over the city, affecting visibility. The dust storm also lowered the temperatures in Delhi. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted gusty winds to reach a speed of 70 to 80 kilometres per hour, according to ANI. IMD also predicted rain over south-west Delhi, south Delhi Faridabad, Gurugram, Jahangirabad, Khurja, Hathras, Nuh, Palwal, Bhiwadi, Rewari, Bawal, Kosali, Sohna, Aurangabad, Hapur, Etah, Sahaswan, Aligarh, Jattari, Khair, Farukhnagar, Noida, Ghaziabad and adjoining area of Hodal on Wednesday evening. The maximum temperature at Safdarjung observatory was recorded at 41.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average. However, the temperature fell sharply to 29.8 degrees Celsius at 7.30 pm. Humidity levels oscillated between 49 per cent and 32 per cent. The air quality, however, remained poor. Private weather forecaster Skymet Weather said parts of Delhi and NCR could also see “heavy showers”. On Tuesday, the maximum temperature in the city was 44.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above the season’s average. With inputs from agencies