An intense dust storm tore through the nation’s capital today, forcing the IMD to raise the alert level to a red warning in all districts of the city. The abrupt change in weather conditions brought in high-speed winds, resulting in a cloud of dust engulfing multiple areas of Delhi, hampering everyday activities.
92 Kmph winds reported in Palam & Dwarka areas
Southwest Delhi bore the brunt of the extreme conditions as the local meteorological stations recorded severe wind speeds of up to 92 kmph (50 knots) at around 2:30 PM today.
This sudden turn of events happened barely hours before the 1:00 PM district-level nowcast released by the Regional Meteorological Centre, which had raised an orange warning for Delhi, anticipating mild thunderstorms.
IMD warns of rain, lightning, and gusty winds
Based on the current observations, IMD has issued a prediction of moderate showers in isolated parts of Delhi while the rest of the area will experience light rains. Alongside the showers, active thunderstorms with lightning and sustained high gusty winds ranging from 60-70 kmph and a maximum gust of 80 kmph are expected.
According to the official advisory from the regional met center, “Light rain with thunderstorm/ lightning accompanied with gusty winds (50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph) is very likely at many places over Delhi.” This active weather warning remains firmly in place through the late afternoon.
Dust storm warning extended to nearby NCR areas
This unpredictable and violent weather condition is not limited to just Delhi. The weather forecasting body has forecast that a swirling dust storm, with accompanying thunderstorms and willlight rainfall, would lash through various parts of the adjacent NCR within the next two hours.
High alert has been issued in the following areas:
- Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, and Bhiwani
- Jind, Gohana, Hansi, and Hissar
- Fatehabad, Barwala, Adampur, Meham, Siwani, Tosham, Charkhi Dadri, and Mattanhail
Temperatures and pollution levels
Ahead of the dust storm, the temperature was expected to be around 38°C to 40°C during the daytime in the capital city. At 9:00 AM, before the onset of the storm, the AQI of the air quality was measured to be 135, placing it under the moderate level. Nevertheless, the intense concentration of airborne particles generated from the winds of speed 92 kilometers per hour is expected to cause sudden pollution levels.
Bureau Report
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