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Massive dust storm hits Gurugram, Delhi, Noida; IMD issues red alert for parts of NCR
Parts of Delhi were placed under a red alert by the IMD as dust storm and light rain hit city as well as adjoining areas of Gurugram and Noida.
A dust storm swept through Haryana's Gurugram and then proceeded to hit parts of Delhi as well a Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for Delhi-NCR, forecasting rain and strong winds across the region.
Videos shared on social media showed massive dust storms sweeping through several parts of Gurugram, with strong winds and low visibility affecting normal life in the city.
A brief spell of moderate to heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms was likely between 3 pm and 4:30 pm across several parts of Delhi-NCR, according to amateur weather enthusiast Navdeep Dahiya. Weather conditions were expected to turn dry again after 5 pm.
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Dust storm forecast
The IMD said in a warning at 2:30 pm that dust storms followed by thunderstorms accompanied by light rain, lightning and gusty winds of 50-80 kmph were likely across Delhi and several parts of the National Capital Region over the next two hours.
“Dust storm/followed by Thunderstorm with light rainfall and lightning (50-80 Km/h gusty winds) is very likely to occur at entire Delhi and NCR Meham, Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad, Hodal (Haryana) Bagpat, Khekra, Pilakhua, Sikandrabad, Nandgaon, Barsana (U.P.) Bhiwari, Tizara, Alwar, Nagar, Deeg, Laxmangarh, Nadbai (Rajasthan) during next two hours,” the IMD said.
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Red alert for Delhi-NCR
Several parts of Delhi were briefly placed under an red alert warning of rain accompanied with dust storm and severe thunderstorms.
Southwest, West, North, South and Southeast Delhi districts were under a red alert till at least 5:30 pm, according to the nowcast seen on IMD's website at around 3:30 pm.
The remaining districts, North, Northwest, Northeast, Central, and Shahadra, were under an orange-coloured warning.
While Gurugram was on a yellow alert, Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Ghaziabad were placed under under an orange warning by the IMD.
Dust storms deteriorated Delhi’s air quality sharply on Monday, with the city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) plunging by more than 100 points to enter the “poor” category for the first time in nearly a month.
Despite the rise in pollution levels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) decided against invoking Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), saying forecasts indicated that air quality would improve and remain in the “moderate” category over the coming days.
At 4pm on Monday, Delhi’s AQI stood at 228, compared to 127 on Sunday – a deterioration of 101 points in 24 hours. It was the first time since May 28, when the AQI was 207, that the city recorded “poor” air quality. The last time pollution levels were worse was on May 26, when the AQI reached 252.
Experts cited in an earlier HT report attributed this to a “mild dust storm on Sunday night”.
“Because of it, the dust concentration in the air would have increased on Monday. Additionally, dry winds currently flowing over the city may have also contributed to the sudden deterioration of the air quality,” said amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya.
