Heat wave relents after light showers in parts of north India
New Delhi: The intense heat wave that gripped parts of north India relented on Thursday with light and sporadic showers in Punjab, Haryana, while Rajasthan saw a slight dip in temperatures after the mercury neared the 50-degrees mark a day earlier.
Weather departments in these regions have forecast thunderstorm and light rains in the next 24 hours, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting that heat wave prevailing over plains of northwest and central India will likely further abate from Friday. Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand region experienced torrid weather conditions with Banda recording 44.6 degrees Celsius and Jhansi 44.2 degrees Celsius.
State capital Lucknow got a little respite from the blistering heat and recorded 35.6 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.
Rain, thunderstorm and also dust storm have been forecast at certain places in Uttar Pradesh during the next 24 hours. Rajasthan's Churu and Sriganganagar districts recorded 46.9 degrees Celsius. The temperature in Churu hovered around the 50-degrees mark for the past two days.
It was 45.4 degrees Celsius in Jaisalmer, 45.2 in Bikaner, 45 in Kota, 44.3 in Barmer, 44.1 in Jaipur, 42.3 in Jodhpur and 41.1 degrees Celsius in Ajmer.
The MeT department gas forecast dust storm, thunderstorm and gusty winds of 50-60 kmph is several districts.
Light rain at isolated places and gusty winds on Thursday brought slight relief from the scorching heat in Punjab and Haryana as maximum temperatures settled below the 40-degree mark at many places.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, which received light shower, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal limits, the meteorological department said here.
In Haryana, Karnal recorded a high of 35.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches while Ambala registered a maximum temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal. Narnaul and Hisar, however, continued to sizzle recording respective maximums of 43.8 degrees Celsius and 44.1 degrees Celsius, though the mercury dropped by a couple of notches in comparison with temperatures recorded in these two towns over the past two days.
Punjab's Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded below-normal maximum temperatures of 38.8 degrees Celsius, 38.7 degrees Celsius and 37.9 degrees Celsius respectively.
The weatherman has forecast light to moderate rain and thundershowers at many places on May 29 and 30, and
thereafter at isolated places in the state.
In Kerala, the government has warned fishermen not to put out to sea from midnight tonight and prohibited fishing activities in view of the possible formation of a low pressure area over South East and adjoining Arabian Sea.
The South West Monsoon is expected to hit Kerala on June 1, with a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal, according to the IMD.
As per the IMD bulletin at 5 PM, there was a possibility of the formation of the low pressure area from May 31-June 4 and the conditions were likely to become favourable for the onset of the South West Monsoon on June 1 in Kerala.
