Rains lash parts of India, Banda sizzles at 45 deg C

The heatwave continued across the country with Banda in Uttar Pradesh recording a high of 45 degrees Celsius even as rains lashed several parts bringing some respite from the scorching heat.
In Kerala, Palakkad recorded the highest maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, Kozhikode 38.3 degrees Celsius, Kannur 37.4 degrees Celsius, Punalur 38.3 degrees Celsius, Trivandrum 35.6 degrees Celsius.
In Uttar Pradesh, light to moderate rains occurred at isolated places but there was no respite from heat with Banda recording the highest temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.
Overcast conditions and light drizzle with some short sunny spells prevailed in the national capital with the maximum temperature being recorded at 39.9 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal.

At Palam observatory, the maximum temperature was recorded at 42.1 degrees, the official said.
The MeT Office has predicted overcast conditions for tomorrow along with the possibility of light rain and thundershowers in some parts of the city.

In Odisha, the mercury level remained above the 40 degree Celsius mark in 13 places of the state with Sonepur being the hottest at 44.2 degrees Celsius.
The number of suspected sunstroke death cases has increased to 152 of which 14 have been confirmed as heat-related ones, a report from the office of the Special Relief Commissioner said.
Sonepur was followed by Bhawanipatna and Titlagarh at 43.5 degree Celsius.

In Jharkhand, Garhwa remained the hottest place with 43 degrees Celsius, while some places remained cloudy and a few experienced rain or drizzle.
Jamshedpur with a maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius, received 6 mm rainfall during the day, providing relief to the steel city after weeks of high temperatures.
Hazaribagh too experienced rainfall for the second consecutive day as maximum temperature was recorded at 36 degrees Celsius.
Dhanbad, which registered a high of 40 degrees Celsius, received rains in the evening, the MeT officials said.
In West Bengal, temperatures in the city and the districts dropped three to four degrees after last night's squall bringing much needed relief to the people.

Kolkata recorded a maximum temperature of 33.3 degrees Celsius during the day.
In Gujarat, the weather remained cloudy throughout
the day and the maximum temperature went down by around 2 degrees Celsius. The highest maximum temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius was recorded at Amreli.
In Uttarakhand, a much awaited spell of rains lashed most parts of the state overnight supplementing ongoing fire dousing operations across the state in a big way.
Light to moderate rains hit the higher reaches of the mountains in the evening yesterday and swept the plains overnight with Munsyari in the hills receiving 11 mm of rains and Dehradun in the plains recording 7 mm of showers, Director MeT department Vikram Singh told PTI.

In Himachal Pradesh, the summer fires in forests were brought under control with rains in the lower hills dousing ground fires.
HP's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, S P Vasudeva said it had rained yesterday including in the mid and lower hills, which had also helped douse the ground fires.
"It has rained at places including Shimla, Solan and Kasauli. Fires are completely out," Vasudeva told