Heatwave continues despite light rains in parts of UP, Raj

There was no respite from the heatwave conditions today despite light rains in parts of north India as the mercury hovered around the 40 degrees Celsius mark in most places, including Agra where a tourist from Fiji died of heat stroke.
In the national capital, both the minimum and maximum temperatures remained below normal a day after rains and hailstorm lashed the city. The day temperature was recorded a notch below normal at 39.3 degrees Celsius. Yesterday it had settled at 40.6 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature was two points below normal at 24.2 degrees Celsius, one degree less than previous day's 25.5. The MeT department has predicted similar weather tomorrow as the day is expected to be partly cloudy.

Light rains or thundershowers occurred at isolated places in western Uttar Pradesh, leading to a slight drop in temperature while the weather was mainly dry in the eastern part of the state.
According to the local MeT office, day temperatures fell in Allahabad, Meerut, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bareilly and Agra divisions. The temperatures were, however, above normal in Faizabad and Gorakhpur divisions and were normal in the remaining divisions of the state.
The state's highest maximum was 43.4 degrees recorded in Jhansi.

In Agra, an elderly tourist from Fiji died of heat stroke during a visit to the Taj Mahal. Mohammad Fazal, who was in his mid-60s, had come to India for a bypass heart surgery at a private hospital in Delhi and was on a visit to the Taj Mahal yesterday with his wife and son.

In the desert state of Rajasthan, Barmer was the hottest place with a maximum temperature of 43.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Churu at 43.1 degrees, even as some parts of the state received light rains.
Jaisalmer recorded 42.3 degrees Celsius while Kota, Pilani and Chittorgarh recorded day temperatures of 42.1 degrees. Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ganganagar and Jaipur also had a maximum of 42, 41.8, 41.7 and 40.2 degrees respectively.
Light showers occurred at isolated places in Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Bikaner. The weather would remain the same during the next 24 hours, according to a local MeT forecast.
The day temperatures, however, remained nearly two notches above normal at most places in Punjab and Haryana, though the heat conditions relented in some areas.

In the plains of Punjab and Haryana, Bhiwani was the hottest place with a high of 41.4 degrees Celsius. While Ludhiana had a high of 40.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, the maximum temperature at Chandigarh and Amritsar was an identical 40.2 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.
According to the local MeT office, dust storms or thunderstorms may occur at isolated places in Punjab and Haryana during the next 24 hours.