Sporadic rains on Friday brought welcome relief to parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana which have been reeling under an intense heat wave that claimed 40 more lives in the two Telugu states.
Rain in parts of Hyderabad and cloudy weather provided some relief to people in the capital city reeling under intense heat for over a week.
Isolated rain in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions also brought down the temperature at a few places but heat wave conditions continued relentless in the state.
According to unofficial sources, 25 people succumbed to sunstroke in Telangana while 15 more died in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Once confirmed by officials, this will take the toll in the two states to over 1,800.
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The officials till Thursday night had confirmed 1,774 deaths. While Andhra Pradesh accounted for 1,334 deaths, 440 people died in Telangana.
Hyderabad Meteorological Centre has warned that the heat wave conditions may continue for 24 hours. It also forecast rains in few parts of both the states, raising the hopes of relief from the blistering heat wave, the worst in decades.
The maximum temperatures in Andhra and Telangana were three to six degrees above average.
Jangamaheshwarapuram in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh was the hottest place with temperature of 47 degree Celsius.
In Telangana, Khammam and Nalgonda sizzled at 46 degree. Ramagundam recorded 45.