Strong dust-laden winds on Saturday created a dust haze in most parts of north India reducing visibility and affecting normal life.
In Delhi and Chandigarh visibility was reduced to 600 metres following the haze, which affected normal movement of vehicles. A meteorological department official said the wind speed exceeded 74 kmph on Friday. He said the sky was clearing up at most places in the region.
Reports of dust haze, which reduced visibility below five km, were received from Udhampur, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Adampur, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Halwara, Ambala, Sirsa
Sirsawa, Suratgarh and Palam. Power and water supply was affected in many parts of Punjab and Haryana after strong winds uprooted water pipes and electric poles.
The met department official said the haze had brought down the mercury at many places in the region, as the sun had remained hidden following the dusty conditions prevailing in the atmosphere. He added a western disturbance was lying over east of Jammu and Kashmir and adjoining Himachal Pradesh.