NOIDA: An abrupt thunderstorm swept across Noida and Greater Noida on Thursday afternoon, bringing much-needed relief from the heat for millions of residents but also left a trail of destruction in its wake that killed a 45-year-old construction worker, uprooted trees, damaged vehicles, and disrupted power supply in several sectors, officials and residents said.Police officials identified the deceased as Ranjeet, a native of Munger in Bihar. He died after a brick fell on his head at an under-construction building in Greater Noida. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)Police officials identified the deceased as Ranjeet, a native of Munger in Bihar. He died after a brick fell on his head at an under-construction building in Greater Noida.“At around 5 pm, Ranjeet was working on the third floor of an under-construction building near Delta 1 in Greater Noida when a brick fell on his head during strong gusty winds,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.The thunderstorm lashed the region between 2:30pm and 5pm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which has forecast partly cloudy skies with one or two spells of rain or thunderstorms on Friday, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 km/h.Widespread disruptionsTraffic officials received more than 20 complaints related to uprooted trees, waterlogging, and fallen signboards. In Greater Noida West, a large advertisement hoarding collapsed, while plaster from a high-rise building fell onto parked vehicles. No injuries were reported in either incident.Residents across several sectors reported fallen trees and traffic disruptions. In Sector 56, a tree obstructed traffic. In Sector 71, a tree crashed onto a boundary wall, damaging parked vehicles and an electrical panel. In Sector 40, strong winds brought down trees and power lines, causing outages that lasted several hours.Videos shared by locals on social media websites showed strong winds, heavy rain, and low visibility due to dust.Relief from heatThe district recorded a maximum temperature of 38.4°C on Thursday and a minimum of 27.1°C. Residents reported a noticeable drop in temperature after the storm.Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Skymet Weather, said, “Delhi-NCR may witness dust storms, thunderstorms, and pre-monsoon showers till June 6 due to the influence of a western disturbance and cyclonic circulation. Temperatures may breach 41°C before rain brings temporary relief.”Horticulture department officials said nearly 70-80% of the fallen trees had been cleared. Similar weather conditions are expected over the next two days before clearer skies return over the weekend, according to the IMD.The thunderstorm and rain activity is likely to continue intermittently across Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday.Officials from Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which runs Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, stated on Thursday that due to the rain, 11 flights were delayed at IGI Airport, with four each being diverted to Lucknow and Jaipur, and three being forced to land in Chandigarh.