Dust storm kills at least seven, many houses damaged in Rajasthan

New Delhi: A severe dust storm, coupled with light rain, swept vast swathes of north India on Tuesday afternoon killing at least seven persons in Rajasthan and damaging several houses.The storm killed at least seven persons -- five in Bharatpur and two in Bikaner -- and injured many others, police said, adding that many houses were damaged and trees uprooted in rural areas. However, the exact extent of damage was yet to be ascertain.[caption id="attachment_2252768" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]The dust storm was an outcome of the extremely hot conditions on Monday which had pushed the mercury up to 43 degrees Celsius, weather department officials said. The 80-kmph winds, accompanied with drizzle, started around 4.15 PM in the national capital and helped cool the temperature.The maximum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 41.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the normal, and the minimum stood at 28.5 degrees, a MeT official said.The city, which has been reeling under extreme heat for the past few days, also received traces of rainfall and humidity levels oscillated between 69 and 28 per cent.However, severe heatwave conditions prevailed in many areas of Rajasthan. Kota was the hottest place with a maximum of 46.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Jaipur which sizzled at 45.2 degrees Celsius. Other places registered day temperatures between 36.2 and 44 degrees Celsius.Several areas of the state including Bikaner, Pilani, Churu and Sriganganagar received light rain.In Punjab and Haryana, hot weather conditions prevailed even as maximum temperatures hovered around normal levels at most of places in both states.Amritsar was the hottest place in the region as it registered maximum at 41.4 degrees Celsius. Among other places in Punjab, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded their maximums at 39.3 and 38.7 degrees Celsius, respectively. Chandigarh registered its high at 38.5 degrees.PTI