As several parts of the national capital reported severe rain and hailstorm Thursday, airport officials said 14 domestic flights and four international ones were diverted to nearby cities between 6 pm and 7 pm.
"In between 6 pm and 7 pm, nine flights were diverted to Jaipur airport. In the same time period, three flights each were diverted to Lucknow airport and Amritsar airport. Two flights were diverted to Varanasi and one flight to Indore in this one-hour period," the official added.
According to another airport official, four out of the nine flights diverted to Jaipur were of Air India. "These four flights of Air India were heading to Delhi from Varanasi, Kathmandu, Dubai and Kabul," he said.
Vistara airlines said on Twitter that its flight from Guwahati to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur due to bad weather. It added that its Bangalore-Delhi flight was diverted to Lucknow and its Kolkata-Delhi flight was diverted to Varanasi.
Meanwhile, several areas in Delhi and around NCR witnessed hail storms on Thursday, prompting people to post images and videos of hails on social media.
Delhi's air quality improves to 'moderate' due to rain, wind speed
However on the other hand, the overall air quality of Delhi was 'moderate' on Thursday, a significant improvement due to western disturbances, scattered rain and high wind speed, authorities said.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI) of the city was at 171, which falls in the 'moderate' category, a significant drop from the AQI of 349 recorded on Wednesday, which falls in the 'very poor' category.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and between 401 and 500 'severe'.
The CPCB said 31 areas in the national capital recorded 'moderate' air quality, while four areas had 'poor' quality air. None of the areas recorded 'very poor' or 'severe' air quality.
The level of PM2.5 -- particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres -- was recorded at 76 and the PM10 level was at 119, it said.
In the National Capital Region, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Noida and Gurugram recorded also recorded 'moderate' air quality, the CPCB data stated.
The authorities said the southwesterly winds from the Arabian sea will bring more moisture in the capital.
According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), "The wind speed is expected to slow down in the coming days which will deteriorate the air quality to poor after two days. The AQI will remain moderate on Friday also."
PTI
