Minimum comes down in Delhi; shower brings relief in UP

Parts of north India, which is in the grip of a heat wave, on Friday enjoyed slight relief due to a marginal slide in the mercury with some areas also reporting a little rainfall.

However, the respite from the heat was short lived for the people of Punjab and Haryana as maximum temperatures in the two neighbouring states were again on their way up on Friday.

In Delhi, the minimum dropped three notches to settle at 24.8 degrees Celsius as the city experienced some relief from the blistering weather.

The maximum in the national capital was 40.6 degrees with the MeT office saying humidity in air was between 19 and 66 per cent.

The weatherman has predicted clear skies on Saturday which may turn partially cloudy in the latter part of the day.

Parts of Uttar Pradesh received light to moderate rainfall and thundershowers in the last 24 hours, bringing cheer to the people.

MeT office sources said that highest rainfall in the state was 3-cm measured at Bareilly.

Day temperatures fell appreciably in Meerut, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Bareilly divisions even as Etawah continued to be the hottest place in the state with a temperature of 45.6 degrees.

There is a chance of rain or thundershowers at isolated places in eastern UP in the coming 24 hours, the MeT office added.

But Punjab and Haryana were back to feeling the heat a day after a marginal drop in the mercury brought about a welcome change in weather.

In Punjab, Amritsar sizzled at 44 degrees Celsius, up four degrees above normal while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded highs of 42.6 and 42.2 degrees, respectively, the MeT office said.

Hisar in Haryana sweat it out at 43.6 degrees, up two degrees from the normal, while Ambala (40.7 degrees), Bhiwani (42.2) and Karnal (39.8), too, grappled with the merciless heat.

Union territory of Chandigarh recorded a maximum of 40.3 degrees, one notch above normal.

The local MeT office in Rajasthan has predicted some rainfall on Saturday in the south-western parts of the state where Bikaner, Churu and Jaisalmer today recorded highs of an identical, and sweltering, 45.2 degrees.