Streets were waterlogged, trees were uprooted and flight operations were hit as Delhi and surrounding areas witnessed heavy rains, thunderstorms and strong winds overnight.
Severe waterlogging was reported in Moti Bagh, Minto Road, Delhi Cantonment and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.
The city's primary weather station recorded winds gusting up to 82 kmph and 81.2 mm of rain in six hours -- between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am.
Flight operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were impacted. In a post on X at 3.59 am, IndiGo said adverse weather conditions over Delhi had led to temporary disruptions in flight operations. Two hours later, the airline posted that operations were back to normal.
As of 7.30 am, flights from the Delhi airport are departing with an average delay of 46 minutes, as per FlightRadar24. The temperature stood at 22 degrees Celsius.
Heavy rains also lashed parts of Uttarakhand and Haryana.
The inclement weather came even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Delhi and nearby areas. The weather body had said in its nowcast that a thunderstorm cell was approaching Delhi and adjoining areas from the west/northwest. Under its influence, severe thunderstorm or dust-raising wind activity accompanied by frequent lightning and gusty winds (speed reaching 40-60 km/h or more) was likely.
The IMD has urged people to avoid open spaces, not take shelter under trees, stay away from weak walls and unstable structures and not go near water bodies.
On Wednesday, a cloud mass had entered North Delhi and moved south-southeastwards, triggering a dust storm and strong winds. The winds blew at speeds of 50-60 kmph, gusting up to 70 kmph, accompanied by light rainfall earlier in the evening. Power disruptions were reported in several areas across the capital after the intense dust storm.
The rain and storm came a day after monsoon reached the Indian mainland in Kerala, a week ahead of the usual date and the earliest since 2009. Normally, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17 and withdraws completely by October 15.
