13JUNE2019 STATE OBSERVER
Temperature drops by 7 degrees Celsius; flight operations hit due to strong winds
A dust storm with gusty winds of 60-70 kmph blew across the city on Wednesday evening, bringing much needed relief from the heatwave witnessed over the past three days.Traffic came to a standstill due to low visibility and strong winds. Motorcyclists were forced to park their vehicles and wait till the situation improved. There were reports of branches falling and hoardings being dislodged across the city. Flight operations were also hit due to the strong winds with nine flights being diverted between 6.40 p.m. and 7.15 p.m, an airport spokesperson said. The situation returned to normal by 7.45 p.m.The Met Department said that temperature fell from about 40 degrees Celsius at 5 p.m. to around 33 degrees Celsius by 7 p.m. when the winds were at the peak. The weatherman had forecast that dust storms would hit the city in the evening on Wednesday and Thursday but said that the activity would be only in the evening and the days would continue to remain hot.The city recorded a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and a minimum of 31 degrees Celsius, both two and three degrees above normal.The forecast for Thursday reads partly cloudy sky with the possibility of very light rain. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be between 43 and 29 degrees Celsius. The city is likely to come under the influence of another dust storm/thunderstorm on June 16 and 17.
