More dust storms hit northern India

A massive dust storm with winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour has battered northern India.

The storm was caught on camera over Bikaner in the northern state of Rajasthan. This type of dust storm, triggered by a collapsing thunderstorm, is known as a “haboob”.

Haboobs can be highly dangerous, as the visibility drops dramatically in a matter of seconds. Within the cloud of dust, the winds can be gusting over 150kph and the temperature usually drops by a couple of degrees.

The storm ripped down trees and power lines, as it tore across the northern cities of New Delhi, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Meerut and Ghaziabad.

Many of the locations were hit by the storm after dark, meaning early morning commuters had a testing drive to work on Tuesday as they struggled to navigate fallen trees and branches.

The storms come less than a week after another dust storm killed 124 people in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Andra Pradesh.

The Indian Meteorology Department has issued warnings for the threat of further thunderstorms over the next few days. These could also bring damaging hail and more dust storms with destructive winds.