Rains lash Delhi, parts of Punjab, Haryana; IMD says no heat wave for most of India from May 30-June 2

NEW DELHI: Rains lashed the national capital and parts of Haryana and Punjab bringing relief to people from scorching temperatures on Friday, even as many places in Uttar Pradesh and central India reeled under severe heat.

Chandrapura in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region was the hottest place in the country at 45.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Heat Wave Guidance.

In Rajasthan, due to a change in weather conditions, the mercury dropped by six to seven degrees Celsius in most cities, which till a few days ago were reeling under temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius.

The IMD said, “Heat wave conditions abated most parts of the country yesterday except Telangana and Vidarbha.”

“No heat wave conditions likely to develop over any parts of country during May 30 to June 2,” said the IMD, which has predicted that the southwest monsoon is likely to hit Kerala on June 1, thanks to a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal.

Rain accompanied by thunderstorm lashed most parts of Delhi, with the maximum temperature settling at 37 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal, according to the meteorological department.

The maximum temeprature recorded on Thursday by the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, was 40.3 degrees Celsius

It has forecasted thunderstorm, dust storm and light rains for the national capital on Saturday.

Rains lashed Chandigarh and parts of Haryana and Punjab, leading to drop in temperatures by a few notches and bringing a much-needed relief from heat.

Chandigarh recorded a high of 32.1 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal, the Meteorological Department said here.

In Punjab, Patiala registered a maximum temperature of 29.8 degrees Celsius, 11 degrees below normal.

The maximum temperature in Ludhiana settled at 33.1 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below normal, while Amritsar recorded a high of 36 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal.

Haryana's Ambala, Karnal, Hisar and Narnaul also recorded below-normal maximum temperatures of 30.4, 29.8, 37 and 38 degrees Celsius respectively.

Severe heat wave swept Punjab and Haryana earlier this week, with Hisar registering a high of 48 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The maximums had hovered around 43-45 degrees Celsius at many other places too.

The MeT department had forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at many places in the two states on May 29 and 30, and at isolated places thereafter in the region.

Intense heat conditions continued at many places in Uttar Pradesh with Etawah being the hottest place in the state at 43.8 degrees Celsius, the meteorological department said.

Banda was the second hottest recording a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, it said.

In the state capital Lucknow, the maximum and minimum temperatures settled at 35.9 and 26.3 degrees Celsius respectively, it said.

The department has forecast partly cloudy sky in Lucknow on Saturday with rain/thundershower at some places.

Isolated places in western part of the state are likely to witness thunderstorm and lightning accompanied by squall, the Met said.

People of Rajasthan received some respite from searing heat due to change in weather conditions, a MeT official said.

The maximum temperature dropped by six to seven degrees Celsius in most of the cities due to the change, he said.

Kota was the hottest place in the state with 43.8 degrees Celsius followed by 43.5 in Churu, where the temperature was 50 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Bikaner recorded 41.5 degrees Celsius followed by 39 in Sriganganagar, 43 in Jaisalmer, 41.6 in Barmer, 41.8 in Jaipur, 41.5 in Ajmer and 40.1 degree Celsius in Jodhpur.

According to the MeT department, people could get more relief from heat in the coming days. Thunderstorm and hailstorm is likely in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Bharatpur divisions of the state on Saturday, it said.

In the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district bordering China remains cut off from the rest of the country since May 24 following landslides at several places triggered by incessant rains, according to senior official of the district.

Surface communication with the district has come to a standstill after several stretches of the highway connecting it with the rest of the state were washed away following landslides, Anjaw Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dagbom Riba said.

The deputy commissioner said that the district has already arranged adequate stock of food grains for two months, including fuel to deal with the monsoon fury.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in other districts of the state has gradually improved as the water level of major rivers and their tributaries are receding.

In Odisha, a Norwester at a wind speed of about 40 kmph hit Bhubaneswar and its adjoining areas in the early hours of Friday, uprooting trees and damaging electric infrastructure, officials said.

The Norwester accompanied by lightning and thundershower struck the city around 4 am. Some parts of Cuttack also received heavy rains along with strong winds.

The MeT Centre has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and gusty surface wind with speed reaching 40-50 kmph and light to moderate rainfall at one or two places in Dhenkanal, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Puri, Keonjhar and Ganjam.