A massive dust storm ? attributed to western disturbances, currently over Pakistan ? brought life to a halt in the national capital during the evening rush-hour on Friday. Nine people were reported killed across the city as a 114-kmp/h gale hit the Delhi with dust swirl turning late afternoon into night.
1. Nine people crushed by falling trees, walls; flying metal sheet slits teen?s throat;
2. Five aircraft damaged by flying objects and runaway ladders on tarmac; 37 stretches of roads jammed out, longest extends 3 km in West Delhi
3. Palam Met observatory on Friday recorded winds that went up to 62 knots ? 114.8 km/hour ? raising dust clouds that brought visibility down to a mere 200 metres at 4:54 pm at the IGI Airport on Friday
4. Safdarjung Met observatory recorded winds travelling at 92 kmph (50 knots) and 0.2 mm rainfall in the capital.
5. Dust storm was caused by the strong interaction of two separate phenomenon.
– One was a huge column of a cumulonimbus (CB) cloud, as high as 14 km, which moved from the southwest through Central Delhi towards the Northeast.
– The other phenomenon was massive dust clouds in West Delhi and around the airport.
6. The immediate impact of was a fall in the maximum temperature, which plunged from 45.8 degree Celsius on Thursday to 30.4 degrees today.
AFTEREFFECTS
* No water supply in large parts of Delhi on Saturday, says Delhi Jal Board
* Similar conditions likely over weekend, says Met Department
