New Delhi:
After a spell of extremely hot weather, Delhi witnessed a massive dust storm and rain this evening.
Many trees fell across the city due to the strong winds. Power cuts were also reported from some parts of the National Capital Region. (
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Traffic jams were reported at many places; the dust storm also disrupted Metro services for close to two hours. The Yellow Line, which operates from HUDA City Centre to Jahangirpuri, saw a train halting near the Vishwavidyalaya in North Delhi. (
Read: Dust Storm Disrupts Metro Train Services During Rush Hour)
At least 18 domestic and one international Delhi-bound flights were also diverted to nearby airports.
The Met department had predicted a cloudy evening, but the weather, which has mostly been extremely hot this week, made a dramatic change. From a sunny afternoon, the sky turned dark by just 5 pm.
So far, there had been no respite from the searing heat. Thursday's maximum temperature was recorded three degrees above the average at 43.7 degrees Celsius, making it the season's hottest day so far.