Rain, hailstorm hit Delhi-NCR; flight operations badly affected

NEW DELHI: Over 30 flights were diverted Thursday evening at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to bad weather after several parts in the national capital and neighbouring cities were hit by hailstorm and heavy rain.

While nine flights were diverted to Jaipur, three were diverted to Lucknow and three were diverted to Amritsar. Two flights were diverted to Varanasi, and one flight was diverted to Indore, news agency ANI reported. The flights were diverted between 6 to 7 pm.

Social media users from Delhi and Noida, many of them caught unaware, shared pictures and videos on Twitter and Facebook.

The national capital woke up to an inclement weather Thursday. "The sky will remain generally cloudy throughout the day with light to moderate rain or thunderstorm and hail likely in the later parts of the day as well," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said earlier in the day. The weather office had also predicted hailstorm.