New Delhi, May 16: 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.
Trees fell down on cars in Lodhi colony due to strong winds and dust storm in the national capital. #Delhi pic.twitter.com/eJyTaWS84E
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
This comes after the deadly storm on May 13-14 claimed over 80 lives across five states in the country.
During that time, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had said that the thunderstorm will continue for the next 48 to 72 hours.
Previously on May 2, at least 100 people died in north India and some other states, owing to thunderstorms.
Earlier, dust storms and thunderstorms wreaked havoc in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and the national capital, killing at least 41 people and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Uttar Pradesh bore the brunt of a thunderstorm and hail that left at least 18 people dead, while 12 people including four children were killed in West Bengal, nine in Andhra Pradesh, and two in Delhi, officials said.
At several places in north India including Delhi, high-velocity winds uprooted trees and affected road, rail and air services.
According to the India Meteorological Department, thunderstorms also occurred at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu on May 13.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Saddened by the loss of lives due to storms in some parts of the country. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured." Condoling the deaths, Congress President Rahul Gandhi in a tweet asked party workers to provide all assistance to the bereaved families.
The devastation comes over 10 days after storms hit UP, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Punjab, killing 134 people and injuring over 400. UP was the worst affected, accounting for 80 deaths, most of them in Agra district in the western part of the state.
Subsequently on May 9, several parts of Uttar Pradesh were struck by a severe storm that left 18 dead and 27 others injured.
At least 18 people were killed and 28 injured in hail and thunderstorm that pummelled parts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Five people were killed in Kasganj, three in Bulandshahr and two each in Ghaziabad and Saharanpur. One person each died in Etawah, Aligarh, Kannauj, Hapur, Noida and Sambhal, Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi said.
A squall and dust storm with a wind speed of up to 109 kmph battered Delhi and neighbouring areas, killing two persons and injuring 18 others, and throwing flight, rail and metro operations out of gear.
In West Bengal, at least 12 people, including four children, were killed and over 15 injured in lightning strike amid heavy rain, an official of the state disaster management department said.
Five deaths were reported from Howrah district, while two deaths each from West Midnapore, North 24-Parganas and Nadia districts and one from Murshidabad district.
In Andhra Pradesh, nine persons were killed in lightning strikes.
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