Gurugram likely to see thunderstorms Wednesday onwards, says IMD

Gurugram is likely to witness a dust storm and a thunderstorm with strong winds, the Indian Meteorological Department

The city is likely to witness a dust storm and a thunderstorm with strong winds, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

A cyclist covers his face with towel to protect from the heat while riding along a major road on a hot day near Mahveer Chowk, in Gurugram, India on Monday, 04 June 2018. (HT Photo)

“Similar weather conditions will continue till Friday night. A thunderstorm with squall and lightning is expected from Wednesday to Friday,” said an IMD spokesperson.

The official said temperatures are likely to fall to 39 degrees Celsius and 38 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday respectively as against the 41 degrees Celsius on Monday. While the minimum temperature recorded on Monday was 31 degrees Celsius, the humidity level at 5:30 pm was 30%.

Besides a few odd days when the temperature came down to 39 degrees, the mercury averaged around 42 degrees in the city in the last one week. Vivek Mantri, a resident of DLF Phase 1, said, “Even though the recorded temperature in the city over the last two-three days was a couple of notches down from what was recorded last week, it was very hot during the daytime and almost impossible to step out between 12 pm and 4 pm.”

Last Friday, a dust storm that lasted for around half-an-hour had packed winds gusting at 40kmph. As a result, the mercury was dragged down by a few notches. While no casualty or injury was reported in the city during the storm, residents had to spend a few hours without electricity as Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) cut off power as a precautionary measure. “We cut off power supply whenever there’s a storm as a precaution measure. That is the standard procedure,” said KC Aggarwal, superintending engineer, DHBVN.

Dust storms have been a frequent occurrence in the city over the last one month. Strong winds uprooted trees and electricity poles, leading to disruption in power supply in several areas.