New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): A dust storm, along with heavy rain and wind, lashed the national capital and surrounding regions on Thursday, for the second time in four days.

Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of IMD's North-West Meteorological Centre, said: "Under the influence of Western Disturbance, the national capital witnessed a squall of 72 km per hour."

Dust storms, thunderstorms, lightning and hail storms were also reported in Punjabi Bagh and many places of north Delhi-NCR, he added.

Mahesh Palawat, Vice President Meteorology and Climate Change at private forecaster Skymet Weather, added: "Dust storms and hail storms with rain are expected over Noida and Ghaziabad. Strong winds of 50 to 60 kmph 70 Kmph in gust are possible."

Last weekend, similar weather had brought a much-needed relief from the sweltering heat in Delhi.

Besides this, Delhi's Air Quality Index is in the moderate category on Thursday due to isolated rainfall and gusty winds, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.