Blazing sun pushes up mercury in north, heatwave grips east

Mercury continued to soar across north India today and heatwave conditions gripped most parts of Bihar and West Bengal in the eastern region, affecting normal life and forcing people to remain indoors.
Weathermen predicted that the dry weather will continue for at least next two to three days in the eastern region before a welcome drop in temperatures.
In the national capital, a blazing sun made stepping out of home difficult for Delhiites even as the day temperature settled at 38.6 degree Celsius, one notch below normal.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 24.8 deg Celsius, two notches below normal. Humidity oscillated between 27 and 64 per cent throughout the day. The MeT department predicted mainly clear sky tomorrow with the mercury expected to rise up to 40 degree mark during the day.

In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, people continued to suffer in the scorching heat, with weather remaining dry across the state. The highest maximum temperature in the state was 43.3 degree Celsius recorded at Sultanpur.
The local MeT office said the day temperatures changed a little across UP. They were appreciably above normal in Gorakhpur and Faizabad divisions, above normal in Varanasi and Allahabad divisions, and were normal in the remaining divisions of the state.

Barmer remained the hottest place in the desert state of Rajasthan, with a day temperature of 43.6 degree Celsius followed by Kota 41.9 degree Celsius.
Chittorgarh and Jaisalmer recorded maximum of 41.5 degrees, whereas Jodhpur and Bikaner recorded 41.2 and 41 degrees, respectively. Jaipur, Churu and Ajmer recorded 40.3, 41.1 and 40 degree Celsius respectively.

The weather would remain the same in Rajasthan in the next 24 hours, a MeT department forecast said.
Maximum temperatures, however, remained a few notches below normal in Punjab and Haryana.
The Union Territory of Chandigarh had a high of 37.4 deg C, one notch below normal.
Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar had a high of 37.4 deg C, two degrees below normal. Ludhiana and Patiala had maximum of 38.4 deg C and 38 deg C.
In neighbouring Haryana, Ambala and Karnal saw mercury settling at 38 deg C while Hisar had a high of 39.5 deg C.
Bhiwani and Narnaul recorded maximum at 38.6 deg C and 38.5 deg C.