India, May 22 -- Delhi reeled under extreme and chaotic weather on Wednesday, with the day beginning in a furnace and ending in a deadly frenzy.

In the afternoon, the "real feel" temperature had soared past 50degC for the first time this year, a result of scorching heat paired with high humidity. But by evening, the skies unleashed a storm so fierce it brought the city to a halt, and left at least two people dead.

A thunderstorm swept through the Capital around 8pm, packing winds of nearly 80 km/hr, uprooting trees, damaging power lines, halting flights, disrupting metro services, and plunging many neighbourhoods into darkness. In parts of west, central, southeast and east Delhi, hailstones pelted the ground as sudden, intense rainfall ...