Massive dust storm hits Chandigarh, disrupts life

Chandigarh :  Chandigarh and its surrounding areas were hit by a massive dust storm on Friday evening followed by rain.

The city and nearby areas were plunged into darkness around 5 p.m. with high velocity winds, dust and rain continuing for over one hour.

Trees were uprooted and branches fell at several places. Power supply was affected in most areas for over three hours while normal life was thrown out of gear.

Traffic jams were seen at several places since the dust storm came almost at the time when the evening office hour rush was at its peak on the roads.

The rainfall did make the weather pleasant for some time, giving relief from the heat wave conditions of the past few days.

Maximum temperatures hovered in the 40-46 degrees Celsius mark in Haryana and Punjab in the past few days with a severe heat wave.

While Chandigarh was cooler at 38.3 degrees high, Narnal (46.5), Hisar (46) and Bhiwani (45.1) were engulfed by the heat wave.

In neighbouring Punjab, the maximum temperatures hovered between 39 to 43 degree mark on Friday.

Published on: Jun 1, 2018 at 21:23 IST

IANS