A massive dust storm swept through several parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region on Saturday, affecting areas including Panvel, Kalyan-Dombivli, and nearby suburbs.
Videos shared by residents on social media showed strong winds carrying large clouds of dust across roads and residential areas, reducing visibility and disrupting traffic movement.
A social media user posted footage from Panvel showing what he described as a “sandstorm-like situation”, with heavy dust swirling through the locality.
Another resident shared videos from Panvel around 4 pm, saying the storm had caused darkness, poor visibility, and traffic slowdowns, with dust clouds blocking sunlight across the area.
Local weather tracking platform Mumbai Rains also reported dust storm-like conditions across the interior parts of the MMR region. The group advised residents to remain indoors for the next one to two hours and placed Mumbai city and the surrounding suburbs on standby alert.
Additional footage shared by residents showed strong dust clouds moving through Dombivli around 4:30 pm.
Social media users also raised concerns about ongoing construction activity in rapidly developing areas such as Panvel, saying loose dust and debris may have worsened conditions during the storm.
The dust storm expanded across multiple parts of the MMR region by evening, according to local weather observers.