A thunderstorm, a short but intense spell of rain and winds with speed up to 100kmph pummeled Delhi this evening, uprooting trees and bringing traffic to a juddering halt.

New Delhi: 

A thunderstorm, a short but intense spell of rain and winds with speed up to 100kmph pummeled Delhi this evening, uprooting trees and bringing traffic to a juddering halt. Two people were also killed because of rain.

A 50-year-old man died in the Jama Masjid area in centra Delhi after a portion of a balcony of a neighbouring house fell on him during the strong winds when he was standing outside his residence.

In the Angoori Bagh area of North Delhi, a 65-year-old homeless man identified as Basir Baba died after a Peepal tree fell on him, the police said.

This is the first storm of “severe” intensity in Delhi since 2018, a Met department official said. A moderate thunderstorm had hit the city last Monday.

The temperature fell sharply by 13 degree Celsius, according to readings at Palam observatory near the airport, and by 16 degree Celsius in south Delhi’s Safdarjung.

Areas near the Ferozeshah Road, Tolstoy Marg, Copernicus Road, KG Marg, and Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane had trails of vehicles stranded after the heavy downpour.