After a sudden spell of gusty winds and an overnight dust surge on Wednesday, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to a dense haze, significantly reducing visibility in several parts of the city, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.

The haze was triggered by an incoming cloud mass and strong gusty winds clocking 30–40 kmph over the Palam area, which swept fine dust particles into the lower atmosphere late Wednesday night. A senior IMD official noted that visibility dropped sharply from 4,500 metres to 1,200 metres between 10 pm and 11:30 pm.

Though wind speeds slowed to 3–7 kmph later in the night, the suspended dust lingered, affecting air quality through the early hours. Visibility remained poor at around 1,200–1,500 metres at both Safdarjung and Palam airports, according to officials.

By dawn, a westerly breeze of about 10 kmph began clearing the dust layer, improving visibility slightly to 1,500 metres at Palam. IMD officials said conditions would continue to improve over the course of the day.

According to the IMD, the haze was caused by dust transported from North Pakistan through Punjab and Haryana under the influence of strong lower-level westerly winds. As the dust gradually moved eastward, skies over Delhi started to clear. By Thursday morning, visibility over Palam had improved to 4,000 metres.

This comes just weeks after Delhi experienced a massive dust storm in mid-April, which led to flight diversions and a red alert in the city. An intense pre-monsoon storm on May 2 also uprooted trees and caused significant damage across the region.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology reported the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 8 am on Thursday at 236, placing it in the ‘poor’ category. By 10 am, it had worsened to 249. On Wednesday, the average AQI had been a relatively better 135 in the ‘moderate’ category.

Looking ahead, the IMD forecast strong surface winds for Thursday and the weekend in Delhi. A spell of rain and thunderstorms is expected on Friday, likely bringing temporary relief. The department also issued a warning for isolated dust storms or thunderstorms in parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, with winds potentially reaching 50 kmph.

However, the IMD confirmed that no heatwave conditions are expected in Delhi over the coming week.