Criticised for triggering 'panic', IMD says wind speed observed within range of its forecast

Under attack for issuing an alert for a thunderstorm that triggered widespread panic among people, especially in Delhi, the Met department on Wednesday said the wind speed observed was well within the range of what it had forecast.

In a statement, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said thunderstorm was observed at a few places over Himachal Pradesh, at isolated places over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Hailstorm was also observed at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it added.

On Monday, the IMD had issued an amber coloured alert for Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh with a forecast for Tuesday, reports PTI.

There are four types colour codes signifying the level of caution: green (which means no actions), yellow (situation to be watched) amber (government agencies be prepared for severe weather), red (action needed by the agencies).

Several parts of these states could witness thunderstorm, squall with winds gusting up to 50-70 kilometers per hour, it had said.

With memories of May 2 dust storm -- which killed more than 120 people in north India -- fresh in their minds, the forecast triggered panic among the people. The Delhi government announced closure of schools anticipating thunderstorm and dust storm.