NEW DELHI, May 3 : Rainfall in several states in north India brought down temperatures by a few notches on Sunday, providing much-needed relief from scorching heat.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 24.6 degrees Celsius and is likely to witness thunderstorms with rain, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD on Saturday issued a ‘yellow’ alert for the national capital for the next two days, warning of rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds. The cloudy skies and intermittent rain are expected to persist till May 6.
The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for Delhi, recorded a minimum temperature of 24.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal.
Heavy rain and hailstorms accompanied by strong winds lashed several districts of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, prompting the state administration to put all district authorities on high alert.
The sudden change in weather caused uprooted trees to block roads and disrupt power supply at various locations.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms at most places across all districts for Monday and Tuesday. Snowfall is expected in regions situated at altitudes of 4,000 metres and above.
An ‘orange alert’ remains in place for Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar. These districts are likely to witness isolated heavy rain, hailstorms, and intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the IMD said.
The weather office predicted that maximum temperatures across the state are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next three to four days.
Rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds were reported across Uttar Pradesh over the past 24 hours, with several parts of central and eastern regions recording measurable precipitation, according to the IMD.
Isolated places in central Uttar Pradesh recorded up to 5 cm of rainfall, while eastern parts witnessed light to moderate showers and western regions reported light rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Day temperatures across the state remained below normal at all places on Sunday, with some areas recording a drop of 5 to 7 degrees Celsius below average. No heatwave conditions were reported anywhere in the state, and such conditions are unlikely to develop over the next week, the weather office said.
The Met department has issued a warning for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with speeds of 40-50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph, at isolated places across the state.
In Sultanpur, one person died and another was injured after a tree fell on a flour mill due to a severe storm accompanied by rain in a village on Sunday morning, police said.
Rain also lashed Chandigarh and parts of Punjab and Haryana. In Chandigarh, people woke up to dark clouds blanketing the sky followed by strong winds, a dust storm and a sharp spell of rain. Power supply was also disrupted at a few places.
Rain was also reported from Mohali, Rupnagar and Ludhiana in Punjab. The minimum temperature dropped by a few notches, providing relief to the people from hot weather conditions.
Power supply was disrupted at a few places, while strong winds uprooted some trees and fell several branches.
Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL) said, “Due to high wind speed (in the morning) and falling of power lines, the electricity supply in some of the areas has been affected for longer than expected. Our team is continuously working on the restoration of the supply.”
In Hoshiarpur, a local industrialist was injured when a sudden squall accompanied by rain in the early morning uprooted some electricity poles and trees in the Industrial Focal Point at Purhiran area, officials said.
Phagwara and its surrounding areas were lashed by a dust storm and downpour in the morning.
In Haryana, Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar received rain.
In Rajasthan, several areas continued to reel under heat on Sunday.
Phalodi recorded the highest maximum temperature at 44.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Chittorgarh at 43.4 degrees Celsius. Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer recorded 42.8 degrees Celsius each, while Kota registered 42.3 degrees Celsius, according to the Met department.
Bikaner recorded a maximum of 42.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Ajmer 40.3 degrees Celsius and Churu 40.1 degrees Celsius. The state capital Jaipur recorded a maximum temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius.
However, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and dust storm was recorded at isolated places across the state in the last 24 hours.
Thunderstorms and rains also lashed in Himachal Pradesh’s capital Shimla, while hailstorms were reported in Dharamshala. Thunderstorm and lightning were also witnessed in Jubberhatti, Kangra, Sundernagar and Bhuntar.
Light to moderate rainfall was recorded in several parts of the state in the 24 hours since Saturday evening.
The MeT on Sunday issued an alert for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds at 40-50 kmph at isolated places in six districts of Himachal Pradesh. The alert has been issued for Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts for May 4, and for Mandi and Shimla for May 5. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
