Freak weather causes airjam at Delhi airport, more than 70 flights diverted

Unprecedented in a decade during summer, causing more flight delays and aborted landings than in peak winter fog

A massive backlog of flights due to adverse weather at the airport here is not news. That it happened due to a summer storm in the month of May, and left airlines unprepared to handle a rush of delayed flights, is news.

A little over 70 flights were diverted on Sunday. According to the metereological department, this was the highest number of diversions on a single day in a decade, including fog-related ones during winters.

What caused it? Meteorologists say a rare phenomenon -- formation of cumulonimbus cloud, coupled with changing patterns of strong winds. Cumulonimbus cloud is a dense and towering