Bikaner scorches at 45.5 deg C; light rains in some parts

Heat wave continued to sweep several parts of the country shooting mercury upwards with Bikaner sizzling at 45.5 degrees Celsius even as light rains brought some respite to people from the scorching sun in a few states.
In Odisha, one more death suspected to be from sunstroke was reported today taking the toll to 175. The official count, however, still stands at 17 as yesterday, the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office in that state said.
At least 10 places in Odisha's western part recorded temperature above 40 degrees Celsius. While mercury in Bhawanipatna stood at 42.5 degrees Celsius in Titlagarh it registered 42 degrees Celsius. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack posted 39.8 and 36.8 degrees Celsius respectively.

In Rajasthan, heat wave conditions continued to prevail in western parts of the state. Following Bikaner was Barmer which recorded 44.2 degree Celsius. Jodhpur and Churu registered maximum of 43.3 degrees whereas the day temperature in Ajmer, Jaisalmer and Jaipur were 42.8, 42 and 40.4 degree Celsius respectively.
Meanwhile, Dabok recorded 14 mm rainfall and Pilani and Kota received traces of it bringing some respite from the searing heat. Very light rain with thunderstorm occurred at isolated places in Ajmer, Jaipur, Kota and Bikaner divisions.
The weather conditions would remain the same with possibility of rain and thunderstorm at isolated areas next day, a forecast said.

In national capital, the maximum temperature was recorded at 38.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average while the humidity level oscillated between 38 and 96 per cent.

People at most places in Punjab and Haryana today also got relief from the harsh weather as rains lashed several places in the region last evening.
Ludhiana, which received a heavy downpour at 17.2 mm, recorded a maximum temperature of 34.5 deg C, down four notches against normal limits, the MeT Department there said.
While parts of Uttar Pradesh witnessed rain and thundershowers, the mercury touched 41.6 degrees Celsius at Banda today, the highest in the state.

Allahabad recored 40 degrees Celsius while Lucknow posted 40.1 degrees Celsius.
In West Bengal, day temperatures in Gangetic plains remained below the 40 degree Celsius mark with the weatherman forecasting thunderstorm accompanied with squall in parts of the region in the next few days.
While the mercury stood at 39.3 degrees Celsius in Bankura, Kolkata followed at 38.5 degrees Celsius.
Patna registered 40.6 degrees Celsius while Jamshedpur posted 39.8 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, heavy rains drenched parts of Rajasthan,
leading to a slight drop in the maximum temperature. The rains, however, gave a miss to Churu that simmered at 41.3 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh also witnessed heavy rains at some places, including Moradabad 13 cms, Agra 10cms, Jalesar 8 cms, Lalitpur 6 cms and Aligarh 5 cms.
The weatherman said that monsoon has turned weak over Punjab and Haryana. Both the states have been experiencing dry weather conditions for the last two-three days.
"The monsoon has turned weak over Punjab and Haryana. However, it is likely to gain momentum July 13 onwards," a MeT department official said.
With rains playing truant, residents in the state reeled under high humidity that shot up to 85 per cent.