THUNDERSTORM, RAIN SHOWERS KNOCK DOWN TREES IN NOIDA

NOIDA: As Noida and its nearby areas received premonsoon showers on Thursday night, along with thunderstorms with strong winds of speeds around 70 kilometres per hour (kmph), due to a local trough formation from Punjab to western Uttar Pradesh, a few trees were knocked down in the city.

The storm knocked down some trees in a few residential societies and reserve forest areas of the city.

“Two gulmohar trees fell on cars parked near the boundary. Two of them were badly damaged. There was property damages as well. The night storm created a lot of havoc. Fortunately, there were no injuries or casualties. The trees were later removed by the authority,” said Rajiva Singh, president, Stellar Kings court, Sector 50.

“We received one complaint from the Sector 50 high-rise society where a few trees fell. There is otherwise no record of how many trees had fallen or were damaged in the thunderstorm,” said IP Singh, officer on special duty of the health department of the Noida authority.

“Late night, a few trees fell in the Okhla Bird Sanctuary as well. The department’s workers are removing them,” said Pramod Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Noida saw a maximum and minimum temperature of 37.9°C and 22.1°C as of Friday.

While the maximum and minimum temperatures were unavailable for Thursday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 42.3°C and 33.2°C on Wednesday.

The city also received light rainfall recorded at 0.5 milimetre (mm) till 8.30am on Friday morning.

“The temperature is likely to drop from Sunday, with maximum temperatures hovering around 35°C. Patchy rain and showers, however, will continue,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, metrology and climate change, Skymet.