India, May 16 -- Late Wednesday night, a dense haze of dust blanketed Delhi without warning, choking the city through the night and into Thursday morning. The sudden intrusion of grit-laden air, which lingered until almost noon, brought visibility down and residents gasping for breath - yet again catching both citizens and authorities off guard.

At the centre of the storm, once more, is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), whose forecast had predicted only "thundery development" and winds of 15-25 km/hr, gusting up to 35 km/hr. Nowhere did it mention the scale or severity of the dust that would roll in from Rajasthan's Thar desert.

This marked the third time this month that Delhi's weather turned volatile with no meaningful alert ...