New Delhi, May 9: Keeping an eye on weather conditions and its severity, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued weather warning for the national capital and surrounding areas. The IMD informed that strong winds and rains are expected to hit Delhi and nearby areas of Jhajjar, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hodal and Palwal. Also, areas near Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Rohtak may witness hailstorm also.

On Tuesday, parts of the national capital witnessed a dust storm accompanied by light rains in the evening. The maximum temperature was recorded at 34.7 degrees Celsius today, four notches below normal, while the minimum settled at 22 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.

"A duststorm entered the city around 8.30 PM. It focused in the Palam area and is moving towards south east part of the city," a MeT department official said. The prior day, a dust storm, with a wind speed of 70 kilometres per hour, hit the national capital on late in the night followed by a squall, bringing down the temperature after a hot day.

Due to advisories on bad weather conditions, the government also issued a list of “dos and don’ts” to deal with any such possible situation. The Department of Education later also issued a circular on the issue. Meanwhile, the Delhi government had put search and rescue teams on standby. The traffic police have alerted their field formations to be ready to remove obstacles such as fallen trees and asked commuters to check weather conditions before travelling.

The Delhi Metro, too, has decided to exercise extreme caution in running of trains in the wake of the warning. According to airport sources, six flights were diverted last night due to strong winds. However, operations were normal in the morning.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).