A western disturbance has brought extreme rain and thunderstorms across Delhi and several neighbouring states on Friday. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert and an orange alert for some regions in the National Capital and the surrounding areas.
The residents in Delhi and the NCR woke up during early hours of Friday to several energy alert warnings for a thunderstorm along with lightning, heavy rainfall and strong winds in several parts of the region.
The emergency warning system appeared on mobile phones, and netizens took to social media to share their reaction.
The multiple warnings began Thursday night and were repeated three times at 8:50 pm, 10 pm and 1:15 pm.
One of the alerts read "Severe Thunderstorm (wind speed 70-90 KMph gusting to 100 kmph or more) with Lightning and Moderate to intense spell of rain and hail is very likely to occur at a few places over Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bijnor, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Hathras, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shamli in the next 3 hours."
The alerts are part of the efforts by the centre to improve emergency communication during disasters and severe weather events.
The notification comes with a loud alarm sound that jolted many awake in the middle of the night.
The method had mixed reactions, with many saying that it disturbed their sleep. Some X users said that the alerts could also trigger anxiety or “knee-jerk reactions in some.”
On Thursday, the rain and the winds brought much-needed relief from the intense heatwaves that have been constant this year.
The IMD has forecasted thunderstorms, lightning and strong surface winds of 70 -80 kilometres gusting up to 90 km /h.
Dust-raising winds were also likely in several parts of the city.
The weather department had also predicted that there would be partly cloudy conditions with the possibility of brief spells of rain or thunderstorms from June 13 to 15, mainly during the afternoon and evening hours.
Winds may continue to reach 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph during thunderstorms.
