Massive dust storm hits Delhi late on Tuesday night; IMD issues fresh warning for next 72 hours

A massive dust storm hit Delhi in the early hours on Wednesday, 16 May, as per a DNA report. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) strong winds and lighting are likely to hit Delhi and it’s adjacent areas in the next two hours. IMD has also issued a fresh warning for the next three days.

Trees fell down on cars in Lodhi colony due to strong winds and dust storm in the national capital. #Delhi pic.twitter.com/eJyTaWS84E

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Strong winds, accompanied by dust, lashed the city while bringing a sudden decline in the temperature. This comes after the deadly storm on 13-14 May that claimed over 80 lives across five states in the country. Previously on 2 May, at least 100 people had died in north India owing to thunderstorms. Subsequently, on 9 May, several parts of Uttar Pradesh were struck by a severe storm that left 18 dead and 27 others injured, stated the report. [caption id=“attachment_4468381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A palm tree fell on cars during the dust storm in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] Thunderstorms, dust storms, rainfall during summers have been a normal phenomenon in northern India.“But not of this severity. The frequency of western disturbance is unusually high,” said Mahesh Pahlawat, vice-president (Meteorology and Climate Change) at Skymet, reported The Indian Express. The India Meteorological Department has also predicted that Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh would witness thunderstorm accompanied by a squall in the next few days. “Thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds are also very likely at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Telangana, north coastal Andhra Pradesh, south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Kerala,” the IMD advisory for 15 May read.