India, April 4 -- It was a day of multiple weather phenomena for Delhi on Friday, as a dust storm kicked off morning proceedings- leading to a spike in pollution levels-before giving way to clear skies during the afternoon and then making way for a spell of rainfall from the evening. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued an "orange" alert in the evening, warning of rainfall and lightning.

Delhi recorded a "poor" air quality index (AQI) of 266, a maximum temperature of 33.7 degrees Celsius (degC) and 0.4mm of rainfall on the day.

According to IMD data, strong surface winds of over 20kmph kicked up dust across parts of the city in the morning hours, causing a spike in the AQI from a "moderate" reading of 194 recorded a day...