Light rains bring respite from scorching heat in North India

Light showers brought some respite from the scorching heat in North India on Thursday as the mercury dipped by few notches in several states, including Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

In the national capital, which received light rains in the evening, the maximum temperature settled at 36.3 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal, while the minimum was recorded at 23.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average, according to an India meteorological department bulletin.

The weather department has said that the skies are expected to be partly cloudy for the next few days in Delhi.

Greater Noida and parts of Gurugram are likely to witness rain and thunderstorm along with moderate winds, meteorologist from Skymet Weather Services Mahesh Palawat said.

The maximum temperature in several parts of UP recorded a slight decline on Thursday, bringing relief from the severe heat that battered the state over the past few days.

At 42.1 degrees Celsius, Jhansi recorded the highest temperature, followed by Ballia and Basti at 42 degrees each.

The maximum temperatures in Varanasi and Prayagraj were recorded at 41.9 degrees and 41.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Sultanpur recorded a maximum temperature of 41.7 degrees, the Met office said.

The mercury had soared past the 44-degree Celsius mark on Wednesday, with Prayagraj the hottest at 44.5 degrees.

Rain or thundershowers are very likely at isolated places over the state, the Met office has predicted.

In Himachal Pradesh, intermittent rains accompanied by hailstorm lashed several parts of the state while tribal areas received fresh snowfall, disrupting normal life.

A severe hailstorm hit Shimla and surrounding tourist destinations of Kufri and Chharabra, disrupting vehicular traffic. Dark clouds engulfed the state capital around noon, forcing vehicles to move at a snail's pace with their headlights on.

Hansa and Kusumseri in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded 20 cm and 12 cm fresh snow, followed by Gondla (10 cm) and Keylong (7 cm).

As many as 63 roads including 42 in Lahaul and Spiti, 11 in Kullu, four in Kinnaur, three in Chamba, two in Kangra and one in Shimla were blocked and 142 transformers were affected, as per the state emergency operation centre.

Kothi was the wettest place in Himachal with 72 mm of rainfall, followed by Kalpa 61 mm, Jogindernagar and Reckongpeo 57 mm and Mashobra 56 mm, the Met office said.

With rains lashing the state for the past three days, the pre-monsoon rain deficit from March 1 to April 20 has reduced to 14 per cent as the region received 135.6 mm rains compared to normal rainfall of 158.4 mm.

Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal and some other parts of the state witnessed thunderstorm along with lightning and drizzle on Thursday morning due to western disturbance and other factors.

“Such weather is expected to prevail for the next four days,” IMD's Bhopal centre director R Balasubramanian told PTI over phone.

On Wednesday, Khajuraho, a popular tourist destination in Chhatarpur district, sizzled at 44.5 degrees Celsius.

Asked about the untimely showers, Balasubramanian said an upper air cyclonic circulation was lying over south-west Rajasthan and the western disturbance over Pakistan and its adjoining Punjab has disturbed the weather pattern in Madhya Pradesh.