2 killed as sudden rain lashes India's Delhi

India's Delhi reeled under extreme and chaotic weather on May 21, with the day beginning in a furnace and ending in a deadly frenzy, Report informs via Hindustan Times.

In the afternoon, the “real feel” temperature had soared past 50°C for the first time this year, a result of scorching heat paired with high humidity. But by evening, the skies unleashed a storm so fierce it brought the city to a halt, and left at least two people dead.

A thunderstorm swept through the capital in the evening, packing winds of nearly 80 km/hr, uprooting trees, damaging power lines, halting flights, disrupting metro services, and plunging many neighbourhoods into darkness. In parts of west, central, southeast and east Delhi, hailstones pelted the ground as sudden, intense rainfall drenched the city.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the spell to a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and an east-west trough from Punjab to Bangladesh, drawing moisture from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

“The sudden weather change was due to a cyclonic circulation embedded in a trough, fed by moisture from both seas,” said IMD scientist Krishna Mishra.

As the windstorm raged, more than two dozen large trees were uprooted, blocking key roads.