Dusty winds, rains hit Delhi-NCR, trees uprooted at 80 locations

The national capital witnessed a sudden weather change on Friday evening as dusty winds and rains hit several parts of the Delhi-NCR, uprooting trees at nearly 80 places and causing inconvenience to farmers protesting at the city's borders.

The rains brought a much-needed relief to Delhiites reeling under hot and humid conditions. Netizens took to Twitter to share pictures of a rainbow that formed after the showers.

Strong winds of up to 60 km/hr swept through the national capital, the meteorological office said.

The winds uprooted trees at 67 places in north Delhi, including Civil Lines, Shalimar Bagh and Paschim Vihar, and at 11 locations in south Delhi, including in Kalkaji and Nizamuddin West among others, officials said.

Similar incidents were reported in east Delhi as well.

It is likely to be the first time since 2014 that the city may not witness a heatwave in the summer season.

No heatwave has been recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, considered the official marker for the city, till now.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius during the day, a notch below the season's average. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.1 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal.

Till 5.30 pm, the Safdarjung observatory had recorded 3.2 mm rainfall.

Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 38.4 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 26.2 degrees Celsius along with 9.4 mm rainfall. A hailstorm was also reported at Palam at 5 pm.

The Lodhi Road observatory received 1.6 mm rainfall and recorded a maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 25.3 degrees Celsius.

The strong winds added to the woes of farmers protesting at the Delhi borders against the Centre's three new farm laws.

''Around 100 tents have been affected and damaged due to the strong winds and rains. The protesters will spend the night inside trolleys, and the tents will be erected tomorrow (Saturday) morning,'' farmer leader Gurmeet Mehma said.

Another farmer leader, Sarwar Singh Pandher, said food items have also been affected.

''It happens every time when this kind of a situation comes in front of us,'' he added.

A senior police officer said several incidents of trees uprooting were reported in the national capital on Friday evening after the strong wind and rains.

''The municipal department was informed about it and the roads were later cleared for the traffic,'' he added.

The weatherman has predicted partly cloudy skies with the possibility of very light rains/thundershowers on Saturday.

The maximum and the minimum temperatures will likely hover around 39 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

On Thursday, the national capital recorded a high of 38.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the normal, and a low of 24.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the normal temperature for this time of the year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)