Duststorm hits Gurgaon, uproots trees, 14 flights diverted from IGIA
Gurgaon: A duststorm swept through the city on Sunday afternoon, and brought with it strong winds, thunderstorms and light rain. The storm began around 4.15pm, with wind speeds reaching 40 to 50 kmph, accompanied by lightning and a light drizzle.
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Due to adverse weather in Delhi, 14 flights were diverted — two were to Chandigarh, two to Amritsar, seven to Jai pur, one each to Ahmedabad, Dehradun and Lucknow. The flights were diverted between 4.30pm and 6.10pm.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a bulletin earlier in the day, around 3pm, warning of moderate thunderstorms with wind speeds of 40 to 60 kmph and lightning across several parts of southern Haryana, including Gurgaon.
The alert also covered areas such as Mahendragarh, Rewari, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, and Faridabad.
As the sky darkened and heavy clouds appeared, many trees fell in multiple localities and led to precautionary power cuts in some areas. "It was like a wall of dust suddenly hit us. Visibility dropped within minutes, and the wind was so strong it shook the windows," said Monika Sharma, a resident of Sector 56. "A large tree near our apartment collapsed onto a parked car.
No one was hurt, but it was a close call," said Rohit Mehta, a resident of Sector 83.
According to IMD, Gurgaon recorded 14.5 mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Sunday. The minimum temperature dropped slightly to 24.8 degrees Celsius, 0.6 degrees lower than the previous day, offering brief relief from the recent heat. The maximum was at 36.2 degrees Celsius, which was 1.3 notches lower than the previous day.
IMD attributed the weather disturbance to a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and neighbouring regions, embedded in an east-west trough extending from Punjab to Bangladesh.
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Moisture from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is feeding into the system, intensifying the weather activity. Authorities urged residents to stay indoors during such events and report fallen trees or power disruptions to the helpline.
According to IMD forecasts, Gurgaon and surrounding areas are likely to experience more dust storms over the coming days, with a yellow alert issued from June 1 to 3. Experts attribute this trend to hot, dry winds from Rajasthan and the increasing urban heat island effect in Delhi-NCR. The storm impacted traffic and left many areas waterlogged in the capital too. The storm's intensity, with squally winds reaching 96km/hr at Palam, knocked down trees and disrupted po wer supply in some areas.
"This year has seen an unusually high number of western disturbances that bring moisture to north India," said an IMD official.
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