Dust storm hits Delhi again; more coming, warns IMD; top 10 developments

The met has issued a weather warning for May 16-20, and also said that thunderstorms accompanied by winds at 50-70 kmph could will hit 'isolated places' in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha today

Days after a thunderstorm and dust storms hit Delhi-NCR, Delhiites again woke up to a dust storm on Wednesday morning as strong winds and rain lashed the national capital in early hours.

Worse, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that several towns of North India -- Aligarh, Meerut, Panipat, Bagpat, Alwar, Rohtak and their adjoining areas would be hit by thunderstorms and rains before noon.

Over the past week, thunderstorms and dust storms have wreaked havoc across northern and eastern parts of the country. Reports suggest that the number of casualties could be anywhere between 80 and 100. Experts have opined that the freak weather phenomenon is due to a western disturbance that originates in the Mediterranean Sea and brings rainfall to northwestern India.

Western disturbance is a normal phenomenon that can be observed over the western Himalayas and north Indian plains from October to March. However, what is unusual is its occurrence in April-May, several senior IMD scientists have been reported as saying.

Also Read :Thunderstorms Claim 80 Lives; Adityanath Chairs Disaster Management Meeting

The met department on Wednesday issued a weather warning for May 16-20 and said that thunderstorms accompanied by winds at 50-70 kmph could hit 'isolated places' in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, the department had said that the storms would last for 48-72 hours.

Here are the top 10 developments around the thunderstorms/dust storms that have hit India over the past week:

1. Thunderstorm to strike again today: A thunderstorm is expected to hit Jind, Rohtak, Panipat, Alwar, Bagpat, Meerut, Aligarh and their adjoining areas during the next two hours, the Indian Meteorological Department has said, according to a report by news agency ANI.

2. IMD issues warnings for next 4 days: The meteorological department has issued warnings for the next four days. The notification says West Bengal and Odisha will see storms today.

3. Delhi wakes up to dust storm: A massive dust storm hit the national capital in the wee hours of Wednesday. Strong winds, accompanied by dust, lashed the city while bringing a sudden decline in the temperature.

4. 80 deaths so far: The latest dust storm came days after a deadly storm on May 13-14 claimed over 80 lives across five states in the country. At that time, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had said that the thunderstorm will continue for the next 48 to 72 hours.

As many as 80 were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and east Uttar Pradesh due to thunderstorms and lightning with Uttar Pradesh alone recording 51 deaths.

5. 10,000 people marked safe on Facebook safety tool: Facebook on Tuesday said nearly 10,000 people have marked themselves safe till now, using the social network's "Safety Check" feature that was activated on Monday following storms across India. The crisis response tool, which is activated when a lot of people in an affected area post about an incident, can also help users check to see if their friends in an affected area are safe too.

6. Compensation for victims in Muzaffarnagar: District authorities have distributed ex-gratia of Rs 400,000 each to family members of two persons killed in the district in the recent storm.

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Thunderstorm alert over North India: Everything you must know; top updates

After IMD issued dust storm and thunderstorm warning alert in parts of North and East India, Delhi govt has decided to close evening schools today. Catch latest updates on dust storm and thunderstorm

Several parts of North and East India, including Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, could witness thunderstorm and squall on Tuesday, with winds gusting up to 50-70 kilometres per hour, an alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday forecast. The Delhi government has decided to close all evening schools on Tuesday and put search and rescue teams on a standby in the wake of the IMD warning.

As a preventive measure following the thunderstorm warning, the Haryana government closed schools for two days -- Monday and Tuesday. Further, dust storms hit Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday evening with many residents preferring to stay indoors. Chandigarh met department Director Surinder Paul had said that rainfall activity was likely to pick up in the region from Monday night.

In the national capital, the Delhi Traffic Police on Monday advised commuters to plan their journey after checking weather conditions. In the wake of the warning, the Delhi Metro, too, has decided to exercise extreme caution in running trains. In fact, Delhi Metro commuters might face delays in their journey depending on wind speeds.

At least 124 people were killed and more than 300 injured across five states due to dust storms, thunderstorms, and lightning last week.

Here are the top 10 developments around the IMD forecast of thunderstorm, dust storm, and squall in various parts of the country:

1) Thunderstorm and squall in North India, Bengal and Sikkim today: The IMD has issued an alert forecasting that several parts of North and East India could witness thunderstorm and squall on Tuesday with winds gusting up to 50-70 kilometres per hour. The IMD issued an amber-coloured alert, indicating severe weather, for parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, western Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and Sub­Himalayan West Bengal.

There are four types of colour codes signifying the level of caution -- green (which means no action), yellow (situation to be watched), amber (government agencies to be prepared for severe weather) and red (action needed by the agencies).

Delhi residents might get some respite as Skymet Weather has forecast that chances of severe dust storm over Delhi and NCR "have decreased". In a tweet, Skymet Weather Vice-President (Meteorology And climate Change) Mahesh Palawat said, "We expect one or two spells during afternoon and evening. Winds will be 50 to 60 Kmph gusting to 70 Km.

2) Thunderstorm, squall and hail in Himachal and Uttarakhand today: The IMD has forecast that thunderstorm, accompanied by squall (wind speed reaching 50-70 kmph) and hail, are very likely on Tuesday at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

IMD Director Manmohan Singh told news agencies on Tuesday that heavy rains and snowfall can be expected in Himachal Pradesh in the next 24 hours. "Keylong's maximum temperature has dropped to 3.5 degree celsius. The temperature here in Shimla has dropped 4-5 degrees below than the normal temperature," he said.

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