Weather department issues 24-hour dust, thunderstorm warning

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a mild thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the next 24 hours in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and its neighbouring hill states.

"But, the activity over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan will reduce as compared to yesterday," said KJ Ramesh, Director General, IMD.

A dust storm, with a wind speed of 70 kilometres per hour, hit the national capital on Monday night.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) thunderstorm accompanied with light rain and gusty winds would occur in Delhi and adjoining NCR including Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar Gurugram, Bagpat, Meerut and Ghaziabad during next couple of days.

The Delhi government and Delhi traffic police have also issued directives following the alert.

Residents have also been advised to stay indoors and take precaution if going out.

In the wake of the storm, all evening schools will also remain shut today in Delhi while Haryana had already announced school holidays for the first two days of the week. All schools in Ghaziabad district will remained shut today.

The government has also asked other schools to not hold outdoor activities and extracurricular activities between 3 pm to 7 pm during which winds speed is expected to remain high.

According to weather department scientists, the thunderstorm was triggered by high temperatures in Northern India and a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir and winds from the Bay of Bengal.

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

In Rajasthan, 35 persons were killed, while 209 were left injured.