A huge dust storm in India has turned the sky pitch black during the middle of the day due to a freak weather phenomenon.
Pictures show the sand storms engulfing major parts of northern India's Rajasthan on Tuesday.
Local sources said the storm approached from the northwest - impacting visibility, and traffic, and damaging trees, electric poles and tin sheds.
This particular weather phenomenon is usually caused when storms or high-pressure increase winds over a wide area of bare and dry soil.
It whips up the sand and dirt into the atmosphere, dumping it a distance away.
As per reports, the India Meteorological Department has predicted Rajasthan would experience significant rains in the coming days.
It comes as millions in North America face hazardous air quality, following wildfires in Canada.
Hundreds of fires have been burning in eastern Canada for weeks, but on Tuesday smoke began to drift south.
Many people woke up to a greyish haze with hints of orange, yellow or purple, all across the sky.
Residents in New York City wore Covid-style face masks as they walked the street. One resident described the smell to the New York Times as progressing during the day from “burnt toast” to “campfire.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Tuesday's hazy skies “were hard to miss,” and New York City Mayor Eric Adams encouraged residents to limit outdoor activities ”to the absolute necessities."
According to city health commissioner Ashwin Vasan, the air in New York remained the worst it had been since the 1960s and it was expected to deteriorate during the day.
Philadelphia was under a "code red", which could put sensitive groups at risk. Forecasters in Buffalo said the smoke could be more severe than the day before.
Back in Canada, parts of Quebec and Ontario were under a smog warning, with experts sounding the alarm that air in Toronto and elsewhere was likely to worsen before getting better.
“It's not unusual for us to get fire smoke in our area. It's very typical in terms of northwest Canada,” said Darren Austin, a meteorologist and senior air quality specialist with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
He continued: "But, usually, the smoke has been aloft and hasn't affected people's health."
The mayor of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, where about 2,100 people were forced from their homes on the weekend, said the fire is about 10 six miles outside of town, but its advance has been slower than expected.
While New York is blanketed in a vast amount of wildfire-related smoke, Delhi still has worse air quality today.
