Showers cool north, heavy rain alert in Uttarakhand

Temperatures across northern and eastern states, barring Odisha, saw a decline due to rains and thundershowers with the weatherman issuing a “heavy rains” warning in Uttarakhand today.

Delhi had a rainy start. The national capital witnessed sporadic rainfall and strong winds throughout the night which led to water-logging in several parts of the city.

Safdarjung observatory guaged 4.9 of mm of rainfall till 8.30 AM while areas under Lodhi Road, Palam, Ridge and Aayanagar recorded 9.5 mm, 9.5 mm, 5.8 mm and 14 mm of rainfall, respectively.

The city had a high of 36.7 and the minimum temperature was recorded at 23 degrees. The day temperatures in other three metropolitan cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai was recorded at 36.1, 35.7 and 37.8 degrees, respectively.

In Uttarakhand, the MeT office predicted heavy rains in the hill districts of Champavat, Almora, Nainital, Tehri and Pauri. Heavy showers may also lash Dehradun and adjoining areas, it said.

Thunder squall and hail are also likely at a few places while places located above 3,500 metres may receive light snowfall, MeT Director Vikram Singh said.

The weatherman advised people particularly Chardham yatris to maintain caution and not venture out during thunderstorm activity.

A series of cloudbursts in Tehri and Uttarkashi districts since Saturday have claimed six lives, besides damaging a large number of houses.

Odisha in the east, however, simmered under the searing sun with mercury in seven of its cities soaring past the 40 degrees mark. Malkangiri was the hottest place in the state at 43.4, closely followed by Bhawani Patna 43, Boloangir 42, Sonepur 42.7, Titlagarh 41.5 degrees.

The residents in coastal and southern Odisha witnessed rains over the past 48 hours but high humidity, up to 95 per cent, troubled them.

West Bengal too had a pleasant day with Kolkata and Burdwan recording the highest maximum at 37.1, followed by Bankura at 35.3 and Asansol at 34.1 degrees.

Jalpaiguri and the hill station of Darjeeling recorded 39.7 mm and 28.mm of rains, respectively, over the last 24 hours.

Temperatures in Uttar Pradesh today saw a slight decline following rain and thundershowers in several parts since yesterday.

Lalganj, Sahaganj, Sultanpur and Bisauli received 4 cm of rains each while Meerut, Rampur and Shahjahanpur received 2 cm of rains each. The maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius was recorded at Jhansi.

Day temperatures in Punjab and Haryana also hovered below normal levels after rains.

Amritsar in Punjab recorded the highest maximum at 33.4.  The city recorded 26.3 mm of rainfall. In Haryana, Hisar and Ambala gauged 27.4 mm and 3.2 mm of rains. The Union Territory of Chandigarh had a high of 32.9 degrees.