There was no respite from the heat across the country on Tuesday as temperatures stayed above the 40 degree mark at many places in northern, central and eastern India. The mercury touched 46.5 degree celsius in Bokaro and 45.7 degrees in Jamshedpur as Jharkhand reeled under intense heat.
The heat wave has led to a water crisis with several rivers and rivulets having dried up in the state and the administration supplying water through tankers. In West Bengal, heat wave conditions continued in Purulia, West Midnapore, Burdwan, Birbhum and Bankura. Bankura was the hottest at 46.1 degrees. In capital Kolkata, residents bore the brunt of power cuts and humidity oscillating between 90 per cent and 53 per cent. The day temperature was recorded two degrees above normal at 38.4 degrees.
The sun also shone fiercely in central India with Sidhi and Khajuraho being the hottest in Madhya Pradesh at 46 degrees. They were closely followed by Gwalior at 44 degrees. Bhopal too experienced the hottest day of this season so far at 43.4 degrees. In Punjab and Haryana, power shortages added to the woes of residents as daytime temperatures were up to seven degrees above normal. Hisar was the hottest place in both states at a high of 43.6 degrees while the mercury settled at 42 degrees in Bhiwani, five notches above normal.
In Punjab, Ludhiana recorded a maximum temperature of 41 degrees, five marks above normal while Amritsar saw the mercury settle at 41.4 degrees, seven degrees above normal. In Chandigarh, the mercury settled at 40.2 degrees. The national capital saw the mercury settle at 41.8 degrees during the day, six degrees above normal. The high was a slight dip as compared to yesterday's 42.1 degrees, the Met office said.
The minimum was recorded at 29 degrees as against 29.5 degrees a day before and the humidity oscillated between 21 and 40 per cent. In Rajasthan, Churu was the hottest at 44 degrees while Jaipur experienced a daytime temperature of 41.5 degrees.
In Himachal Pradesh, the mercury settled at 26.1 degrees in the Queen of the Hills and 36.3 degrees in Sundernagar. In Jammu and Kashmir, despite overnight rains, temperatures still stayed above normal in the state. The daytime temperature was 39.1 degrees in Jammu, 7.1 degrees above normal. In Srinagar, the high was recorded at 21.6 degrees.
The month of April has been unusually hot this year with 54 people succumbing to the heat across the country so far. Most of the deaths have taken place in Orissa.
