Dust storm, light drizzle in Delhi-NCR

A view of India Gate during a dust storm in New Delhi on late Tuesday. PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: Parts of the national capital witnessed a dust storm coupled with light rains in the evening , with the MeT department keeping an eye on its progression and severity. Heavy rains and thunderstorm were forecast for the national capital tonight by the Meteorological (MeT) department. "A duststorm entered the city around 8.30 PM. It focused in the Palam area and is moving towards south east part of the city," a MeT department official said. The official said that depending on various factors, it was likely to weaken or become more intense later on. The maximum temperature was recorded at 34.7 degrees Celsius today, four notches below normal, while the minimum settled at 22 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The humidity levels oscillated between 54 and 28 per cent. The weatherman has forecast hazy sky in the evening with a possibility of heavy rains and thunderstorm late night. A dust storm, with a wind speed of 70 kilometres per hour, had hit the national capital last night followed by a squall, bringing down the temperature after a hot day. All evening schools run by the Delhi government and few private schools operating in morning shift remained closed today. The Delhi government had put search and rescue teams on standby in the wake of the weatherman issuing a warning of heavy rain and thunderstorm. The traffic police has alerted their field formations to be ready to remove obstacles such as fallen trees and asked commuters to check weather conditions before travelling. The Delhi Metro, too, has decided to exercise extreme caution in running of trains in the wake of the warning. According to airport sources, six flights had to be diverted last night due to strong winds. However, operations were normal in the morning.