North India continues to reel under heat wave conditions, respite likely on Wednesday

DELHI: Several parts of north India continued to reel under severe heat wave conditions, throwing normal life out of gear. Temperatures in Rajasthan touched nearly 49 degrees Celsius. In Delhi, maximum temperatures reached 44.4 degree Celsius on Tuesday, four notches above normal.

In Rajasthan, at least five places recorded maximum temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, with the mercury touching 49 degree Celcius in Bundi and 48.7 degree Celcius mark in Sriganganagar, informed the India Meteorological Department department. Other places where the mercury went past 45 degrees Celsius are Churu (47.6), Bikaner (46.2), Pilani (45.6), Kota (45.5). Jaisalmer recorded 45 degrees Celsius, while Jaipur touched 44.9 degrees Celsius.

In Delhi, the mercury touched 46.5 degrees in Palam area, six notches above the season`s average. Ayanagar recorded 45.2 degrees Celsius, Ridge and Narela 44.2 degrees Celsius while Gurugram and Faridabad sizzled at 44.4 degree Celsius.

Temperatures remained over 40.0 degrees at several parts in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, east Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and few pockets in Jammu, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, north interior Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. 

In Haryana, scorching heat condition prevailed in Hisar and Bhiwani and their maximums were 46.6 and 46.4 degrees Celsius respectively, up to four notches above normal. In Punjab, Amritsar's maximum was 44.2 deg C, up three notches against normal limits.

Delhi-NCR is likely to witness relief on Wednesday, May 30 onwards. "Maximum temperatures are expected to drop by two to three degrees on Wednesday with light rains towards the evening," IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava told IANS.

However, the monsoon rains will not arrive before June 20.

Dust storms accompanied by light rains occurred at isolated places over eastern Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, but the weather remained dry over western parts of the state on Tuesday. Day temperature was above normal in Allahabad, Moradabad, Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Kanpur divisions, with Orai recording the highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday night, thunderstorm and lightning claimed 15 lives and injured 10 people in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, said a senior government official. 

The southwest monsoon hit south Indian state of Kerala on Tuesday, three days before its expected arrival. The onset of monsoon over the southern state marks the commencement of the four-month-long rainy season in India. June 1 is the official onset date for the arrival of monsoon in the country and it takes more than a month-and-half to cover the entire country.

Heavy rains lashed Karnataka's coastal districts on Tuesday, with waterlogging reported in many parts of Mangalore and Udupi. Schools and colleges will remain shut on Wednesday in these places due to rains.

With agency inputs