Chaos and destruction after dust storm hits Mumbai: How is it caused?

The citizens of Mumbai were left surprised on Monday after the city was hit by high winds, rain and a massive dust storm.

According to multiple reports, three are dead and 59 are injured in the city’s Ghatkopar area after a billboard collapsed on a petrol pump due to high winds.

Around 100 others are feared trapped.

The incident occurred at the Police Ground petrol pump along the Eastern Express Highway in Pantnagar.

Scary visuals from Eastern Express Highway, Ghatkopar. #MumbaiRains https://t.co/emJOZ9eb6K pic.twitter.com/RZxN8x9Im0

— Mumbai Rains (@rushikesh_agre_) May 13, 2024

The incident was reported by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) at 4.30 pm at Police Ground Petrol Pump, Eastern Express Highway, Pantnagar, Ghatkopar East.

Police, Mumbai Fire Brigade and other agencies have been mobilised, a civic official told PTI.

“The injured persons have been rushed to civic-run Rajawadi Hospital,” the official added.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai issued a “nowcast warning” – predicting a thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and moderate to intense spells of rain for Thane, Palghar and Mumbai.

“Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph is very likely to occur at isolated places in Mumbai in the next 3-4 hours,” an IMD official said.

But what is a dust storm? And what triggered one in Mumbai?

Let’s take a closer look:

According to SciJinks.com, a dust storm is a wall of dust and debris.

It is usually produced by strong winds from thunderstorms.

The dust storm can be kilometres long and can stretch thousands of feet in the air.

Though they can occur anywhere in the world, they mostly happen in West Asia and North Africa.

An area with certain geography and plant life – for example flat regions with few plants and trees – are more likely to experience dust storms. This lack of plants and trees lets winds gather energy.

According to National Geographic, wind hitting the earth disturbs the layer of dust atop the soil.

It then kicks the dust particles high into the air.  The dust and wind then meld to create massive dust clouds.

Farming practices like tilling – in which plants are uprooted and the ground broken up to allow moisture and air to hit the soil – contribute to such storms.

Dust storms have a few characteristics

• They can often begin abruptly and can catch people off guard

• They can cause car accidents by reducing visibility

• They can cause delays and mechanical issues for airplanes

• Can cause health issues for people

Dust storms are no laughing matter.

As per National Geographic, they have left hundreds dead in the US over the past decade.

They kill at a rate similar to hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.

Natalie Mahowald, a professor of atmospheric science at Cornell University, told National Geographic, they can make asthma worse and also damage the lungs.

“…dust gets into people’s respiratory systems,” said Mahowald.

“It’s not good for humans.”

If you happen to get caught in a dust storm while driving, the safest course of action is to pull over and wait it out.

As per The Week, dust storms have increased due to land degradation and droughts caused by climate change.

They can “damage crops, kill livestock, and strip topsoil” in the areas from which they came “while distant areas are affected by atmospheric dust and surface dust deposits, which affect human health as well as disrupt transportation, supply chains, and power networks,” as per the report.

Dust storms also have a negative impact on the climate by keeping the heat in the atmosphere.

Around 40 percent of atmospheric aerosols –minute particles suspended in the atmosphere – come from wind erosion.

Scientists are concerned about dust storms because of aerosols.

These aerosols, which make global warming worse, perpetuate a feedback loop.

Thus the higher temperatures get, the more storms occur, as per The Week.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, IMD scientist Sushma Nair chalked up the scenes in Mumbai to a trough over Maharashtra.

Nair predicted that this would disperse in the next few hours.

Mumbai left reeling

Metro services were suspended between Aarey and Andheri East metro stations after a banner landed on the overheard wire due to strong winds, a spokesperson from Metro Rail said.

Suburban services on Central Railway were affected after an overhead equipment pole between Thane and Mulund stations got bent due to strong winds, an official said.

The suburban services on the Main Line have been suspended, the chief spokesperson of Central Railway said.

While the unseasonal showers brought some respite from the scorching heat, power outages were reported in Kalwa in Thane district and some other areas.

Apart from this, incidents of trees falling were also reported in some places.

Rains coupled with gusty winds were witnessed in the suburbs of Dadar, Kurla, Mahim, Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vikhroli, while parts of south Mumbai saw drizzles.

The satellite towns of Thane, Ambernath, Badlapur, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar also received moderate showers with gusty winds.

As per The Week, operations at the Mumbai airport have been suspended until further notice.

With inputs from agencies