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This is an image of a really huge dust storm that kicked off over the Middle East and Pakistan, and right now it is affecting Gujarat and Rajasthan in India by very poor visibility at the Earth Surface. The air you breathe will have minute sand grains that certainly get deposited in your lungs and also cause irritation in eyes, nose ears and skin surface if no proper protective measures are put into force.

Citizens woke up Tuesday expecting a blazing sun but found a thick blanket of dust in the sky eclipsing the sun and affecting visibility. Weather became a hot topic of discussion as people mulled over what exactly was happening in the atmosphere to create such dusty weather.

Weather officials said that the dirty sky was result of dust particles suspended in the atmosphere over Gujarat region which had come blowing all the way from Rajasthan. With the ongoing western disturbance passing over Pakistan and Rajasthan, the squall hit the neighboring state's north-west with dust raising winds of 40 km per hour.

"Rajasthan is experiencing dust storms all over. Since the winds are north-westerly, the winds bore dust to Gujarat. The haze witnessed all over Gujarat is due to these dust particles suspended in the atmosphere," said Kamaljit Ray, director of India Meteorology Department (IMD) Gujarat.

"The visibility dropped to less than 1,000 meters from the normal 4,000-5,000 meters. We had posted personnel at the airport to keep civil aviation updated about the visibility levels," said Ray.

He said that the haze which enveloped the state skies all through Tuesday is likely to start clearing by Wednesday. The effects of the dust storm have reached as far as city of Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Those allergic to dust should be careful.

Source: View exclusive satellite images at source

As "interesting" as this is, there is dust all over every single object in my house because no one was told of this by the meteorological department before it took place. :angry: :argh: I am in Mumbai.

New Delhi is so so so dusty right now , i can't remember if i saw clear sky with sun shining bright in these 2 days ... My keyboard has harbored a lot of dust on it too :p

epic this pic is...

Chandigarh is in good condition, its winter all over again, feels like December, and no Sand! YAY!

I am extremely enjoying this weather. :woot:

My favourite after winters. (Y)

But the thing that saddens me is that after this there will be summer. And summer in this region is pretty bad :(

i know that feel bro. In winter it freezes your bones, in summer it roasts you.

Pft, that's not a sandstorm, "this" is a sandstorm.

Taken by me from the back of a truck, Balad, Iraq, 2009.

The middle east in general is terrible for them as I understand it, as is the midwest/southwest US. They're terrible for your lungs.

post-125978-0-09485300-1332391687_thumb.

We don't see that kind of thing too often.

Its quite regular in the deserts of Sindh and Balochistan, but other than that, it doesn't get that intense too often.

With that said, news predicted that this thing won't be here before Thursday night, but you can already feel something in the air.

Calm before the storm.

I am loving this weather. Sad, but refreshing

its clear now after two dirty dusty days ...

A little of it hit Lahore.. Dust everywhere.. Living the lowered heat but I now have to clean my whole room. Dust is very irritating .... I hope it doesn't get any worse.. I won't mind some rain with it :p

Sorry but its dusty cloud storm, not normal cloud storm ..lol

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