Relief from heat wave as dust storms hit Punjab, Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Dust storms hit many places in Punjab and Haryana today, bringing down the mercury by a few notches and providing relief to the people reeling under sweltering heat conditions.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was also hit by a dust storm in the morning.The maximum temperature, which was close to 43 degrees Celsius here yesterday, also dropped by a few notches.

People in Hisar in Haryana, where the maximum had yesterday crossed the 45 degrees Celsius mark, also got some relief from the severe heat wave as dusty conditions brought down the mercury in the morning today.

Ambala, Kurukshetra, Jind, Rohtak, Panchkula among other places in Haryana also witnessed partly cloudy skies today.

Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab, where the mercury had yesterday crossed 43 deg C mark, also got relief from the sizzling conditions today after being hit by dust storms.

Chandigarh's Meteorological Department Director Surinder Paul said a Western Disturbance was active over Jammu and Kashmir and neighbourhood and people can expect relief from the heat wave conditions.

"The skies will be partly cloudy. One can expect light rain in some places," Paul said.

He said another weather system would be active around May 8 and 9 and temperatures were likely to fall again during that time.