Thunderstorm alert over North India-Everything you must know After IMD issued dust storm and thunderstorm warning alert in parts of North and East India, Delhi govt has decided to close evening schools today. Catch latest updates on dust storm and thunderstorm
Several parts of North and East India, including Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, could witness thunderstorm and squall on Tuesday, with winds gusting up to 5070 kilometres per hour, an alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday forecast. The Delhi government has decided to close all evening schools on Tuesday and put search and rescue teams on a standby in the wake of the IMD warning. As a preventive measure following the thunderstorm warning, the Haryana government closed schools for two days -- Monday and Tuesday. Further, dust storms hit Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday evening with many residents preferring to stay indoors. Chandigarh met department Director Surinder Paul had said that rainfall activity was likely to pick up in the region from Monday night.
Here are the top 10 developments around the IMD forecast of thunderstorm, dust storm, and squall in various parts of the country: 1) Thunderstorm and squall in North India, Bengal and Sikkim today: The IMD has issued an alert forecasting that several parts of North and East India could witness thunderstorm and squall on Tuesday with winds gusting up to 50-70 kilometres per hour. 2) Thunderstorm, squall and hail in Himachal and Uttarakhand today: The IMD has forecast that thunderstorm, accompanied by squall (wind speed reaching 50-70 kmph) and hail, are very likely on Tuesday at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 3) Thunderstorm and gusty winds in large parts of India today: Thunderstorm, accompanied by gusty winds, are very likely on Tuesday at isolated places over Punjab, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Bihar, West Madhya Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Coastal & South Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. A yellow-coloured alert has been issued for these states. 4) Delhi government orders closure of evening schools: Following the warning of thunderstorms, squalls, and gusty winds in many parts of India, the Delhi government on Monday said that all city schools in the afternoon shift will remain closed on Tuesday. The decision was taken in an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on Monday evening. 5) Metro train services to be hit today: Extreme caution will also be exercised in the running of metro trains on Tuesday, said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which operates trains in the national capital and NCR. In fact, Delhi Metro commuters might face delays as the trains will be stopped at platforms in the middle of their commute if wind speeds exceed 90 kmph. 6) Plan ahead, use dippers and parking lights while driving, says Delhi Traffic Police: Commuters are advised to plan their journey on Tuesday after checking weather conditions, said the Delhi Traffic Police. The Delhi Traffic Police's advisory states that it has alerted its field formations to be ready to get obstacles such as fallen trees removed. 7) Delhi government's list of dos and don'ts: The Delhi government has also issued a list of "dos and don'ts". 8) Schools in Haryana will remain closed today: The Haryana government had ordered closure of schools on May 7 and May 8, with Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Sunday saying that the decision had been taken in view of the MeT warning. While there were no instructions by the authorities to close schools in Chandigarh on Monday, some schools took the decision on their own and announced a holiday as a precautionary measure. 9) Ghaziabad schools shut today: All schools in the Ghaziabad district will also remain shut on Tuesday in view of the thunderstorm warning. 10) Seven flights delayed due to dust storm in Delhi-NCR: Six arriving flights and one departure flight got delayed due to dust storm that hit Delhi and adjoining NCR areas on late Monday night.