Dust storm hits Delhi

New Delhi: A dust storm hit the national capital on Friday afternoon, affecting visibility, while cloudy weather brought the mercury down slightly, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The dust storm hit Delhi around 4 pm. The wind speed was 50 kilometers per hour. A hailstorm is also likely, said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD’s regional forecasting center.

Very light rain has also been recorded in some areas, he said.

The city recorded a minimum temperature of 20.2 degrees Celsius in the morning. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 39 degrees Celsius.

On Thursday, the capital had recorded a maximum temperature of 40.5 degrees Celsius, the highest so far this season. The minimum temperature had settled at 21.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.

The mercury is predicted to remain below 40 degrees Celsius for the next five to six days, the IMD said.