Rajasthan sandstorm haze hits Mumbai

When Mumbaikars woke up to a hazy Wednesday morning, they thought it was normal and the air would clear by afternoon. But it didn't and the haziness lingered until evening. Weathermen have blamed it on the sandstorm in Rajasthan.

In an isolated and uncommon phenomenon, north-easterly wind brought dust from Rajasthan to Mumbai and Dahanu, said officials of meteorological department.

"Dust storms have been reported in Jaipur and other areas over the past two days. Wind flowing via some parts of Gujarat carried the dust particles to Mumbai, especially the western suburbs of the city," said VK Rajeev, director, meteorological department (Mumbai).

Sources claimed the hazy day in Mumbai was because of the storm from the Middle East countries to Rajasthan. The meteorological department, however, disagreed.

"The Middle East case has nothing to do with Mumbai's curtain of haze," Rajeev said.

While the dust in the air did not affect visibility of motorists for most of the day, the visibility dropped to 1,200 metre at city airports, the department said. "The haze did not affect air traffic though," said an official from Mumbai International Airport Private Limited, requesting anonymity.

The meteorological department officials said the dust is likely to disperse by Thursday morning.

Senior citizen AK Anand, a Deonar resident, was greeted with a dusty air when he went for a walk in the morning.

"When we went for a walk, we were wondering what had caused so much dust in the air. I haven't seen a day like this in Mumbai before," he added.

The weather kept parents worried about the health of their children, especially those with respiratory problems. "Such a weather is bad for children. Already the city is polluted and the dust storm added to its woes," said Anil Joseph, a Bandra resident.