Dust storm hits Gurugram, weather warning issued till May 14

Gurugram: Dust storms, light showers and gusty winds of upto 40kmph lashed the city on Sunday in a sudden change of weather. The India Meteorological Department

Gurugram: Dust storms, light showers and gusty winds of upto 40kmph lashed the city on Sunday in a sudden change of weather. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday also issued a warning predicting extreme weather conditions over the next 72 hours.

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According to Kuldeep Shrivastava, spokesperson, IMD, the changes in weather had been foreseen about three days ago. “It is yet another western disturbance (WD), of which we have seen several over the past few months. The disturbance was accompanied by squally winds which went as much as 70kmph in some parts of the national Capital region, with hailstorms in isolated pockets.”

Shrivastava added that the WD has significantly brought down temperatures in the city. From a maximum daytime reading of 40.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday, Gurugram on Sunday recorded a maximum daytime temperature of 36 degrees Celsius, according to IMD data.

Light showers also had a positive impact on air quality in the city, with Gurugram’s air quality index (AQI) bulletin recording a value of 130 (in the ‘moderate’ category), down from 249 (in the ‘poor’ category) on Saturday.

In Gurugram, “generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers” is expected to persist till at least May 14, according to the IMD’s seven-day forecast for the city. As per the IMD’s weather warning for northwest India, “Thunderstorms and lightning with gusty winds up to 40kmph” are expected over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi next week, with a higher probability of extreme weather on May 14.