Delhi-Noida weather: The hailstorm inspired many to compare Noida to Manali and Shimla.
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram went into an overdrive after Noida, near Delhi, looked like a snowy town after a round of hailstorm last evening. Roads and highways in parts of Delhi and neighboring areas were covered in hailstones. It was after nearly a decade that Delhi and neighbouring areas saw such heavy hailstorm that accompanied the evening rain.
Awestruck residents and commuters were in a tizzy, posting pictures and videos of the "winter wonderland".
The rare event inspired many to compare Noida to hill towns such as Manali and Shimla.
Comparing the hail to snow, another user posted these pictures of the hailstorm.
Busy roads, traffic intersections and apartments in Noida's Sector 93, Sector 137 and Yamuna Expressway were among the hailstone-covered areas.
"This is happening after at least a decade that heavy hailstorm occurred at several areas in Delhi and adjoining areas. Areas like Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Palam received the maximum amount of hail and rains on Thursday evening, while central Delhi was lashed by heavy rains," Mahesh Palawat, Director at private weather agency Skymet, told news agency IANS.
It was a cloudy morning today with the minimum temperature recorded at 7 degrees, two notches below the season's average, against yesterday's minimum which was six notches above normal at 15 degrees, the weather office said.
"The sky will remain generally cloudy throughout the day. The maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 19.1 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average. Friday's maximum is expected to hover around the same," the Met department said.
At least 12 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by two to six hours due to fog and low visibility.
(With inputs from IANS)