From 2 to 3 May 2018, high-velocity

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...

s swept across parts of

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. 125 people died and over 200 were injured. In

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, 43 died in the city of

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

and about 30 died elsewhere in the state. In neighboring

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, about 35 people died and over 200 were injured after winds downed more than 8,000 electricity poles and uprooted hundreds of trees. Storms are not uncommon in the region; however, because these storms occurred at night and with greater wind speeds than average (~100 mph), the death toll was higher than usual.

Background

Dust storms are a feature of India's seasonal weather patterns. The storms typically occur in the summer months, when the weather has been dry to allow dust to be picked up by passing winds. The death toll in such storms rarely exceeds 12; a previous storm hit India on 11 April 2018, killing 19 people

Dust Storm and its Damage

The dust storm occurred at the start of India's

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season. In the days prior, region meteorologists had forecast thunderstorms and high winds to occur over that week. Contributing to the storm was a period of abnormally high temperatures for the region, which increased the intensity of the weather system. The dust storm first started late on 2 May 2018, predominantly hitting the states of

and

. At least 73 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh, with 43 of those in the city of

; 21 people have been reported killed in Kheragarh, a town around 50 km south-west of the city. At least 35 people were killed in Rajasthan, with the

Alwar Alwar ( Rajasthani Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km ...

district being the worst hit; the Bharatpur and

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur district. Dholpur was established by King Dhaval Dev of the ...

districts were also affected. Four people died in the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

was also affected. More than 200 people were injured by the storm. Officials stated that the storm was more devastating than prior dust storms as the stronger weather system carried more debris which caused more damage to homes and buildings, and because it struck at night, most were asleep and were unable to take precautions, leaving many killed or injured by falling structures. Most damage and fatalities were associated with high winds, rather than dust. In Rajasthan, electricity supplies were interrupted by 200–300 downed pylons, and schools were closed in the Alwar district. Because conditions were still prime for more severe weather, the Uttar Pradesh government continued to plan to alert its citizens to weather conditions for the following 48 hours.

Aftermath

The

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appoin ...

has announced compensation for the relatives of those killed amounting to .

References

{{Disasters in India in 2018 2018 disasters in India 2018 natural disasters 2018 meteorology Dust storms May 2018 in India Natural disasters in India Disasters in Uttar Pradesh Disasters in Rajasthan