Eight killed as nor`wester hits south Bengal, heatstroke toll rises to five in Odisha

New Delhi: Another person  on Saturday died of sunstroke in Odisha, taking the death toll this summer to five, while eight persons were killed and 14 injured when a nor'wester hit a number of south Bengal districts.

This was the third heatstroke death reported from Angul in Odisha this summer, while two others had died in Balangir and Bargarh districts, the Special Relief Commissioner's office said.

Meanwhile, most parts of north India, including the national capital, reeled under intense heat conditions with the maximum temperature of Delhi settling at 41.8 degrees Celsius.

The searing heat intensified in most parts of Odisha with Titlagarh being the hottest place in the state at 44.5 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.
The mercury breached the 40-degree mark at 14 places in the state.

State capital Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack city recorded a maximum temperature of 39.2 degrees Celsius each.

Lightning strikes claimed seven lives in East and West Burdwan districts of West Bengal. Four were killed at Mongolkot, Galsi, Ausgram and Purbasthali in East Burdwan, while the toll was three in West Burdwan district -- one in Jamuria and two in Salanpur.

One person was killed when an uprooted tree fell on him at Para in Purulia district, while 10 persons were injured.

The other districts hit by the nor'wester were Birbhum, Bankura and Murshidabad, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata.

Officials said a large number of trees were either uprooted or their branches broke as a squall accompanied by a thundershower hit the districts.
As a result, train services of both Eastern and South Eastern Railways were badly hit with a number of trains delayed.

Airport sources said flights were also affected in the thunderstorm this evening.

The IPL match between KKR and MI at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata was delayed due to the nor'wester.

Rajasthan continued to battle a severe heatwave with Kota and Churu recording the highest maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius each.

Bikaner, Jodhpur, Sriganganagar, Barmer and Ajmer recorded maximum temperatures of 44, 43.8, 43.6, 43.5 and 43.1 degrees Celsius respectively. Jaipur, the state capital, registered a maximum temperature of 42.3 degrees Celsius.

While there was light to moderate rains at a few places in Jodhpur division, the MeT department has forecast a dust storm at isolated areas of the state tomorrow.
Hisar was the hottest place in Haryana with a maximum temperature of 43.8 degrees Celsius, while in Punjab, Patiala and Ludhiana recorded a high of 42.4 and 42 degrees Celsius respectively.

The MeT department has forecast the dry weather to continue in both the states tomorrow.

Isolated parts of south Bihar witnessed a light rain while the weather remained dry in the other parts of the state. Gaya was the hottest place in Bihar with a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius.

Bhagalpur registered a high of 38.4 degrees Celsius, while it also received 4.66 mm of rains.

The MeT department has forecast the possibility of rains or thunderstorms over Purnea and Bhagalpur tomorrow.