Much to the relief of people, the persisting hot and sultry weather took a turn today as heavy to moderate rains lashed most parts of North India, bringing down mercury levels that had been hovering above normal.
Delhiites got a respite as rains lashed the national capital, bringing down the mercury which settled at 43.2 degrees Celsius during the day.
According to MeT department, the national capital received a total of 14.6 mm rain in the evening.
The unexpected rains led to traffic snarls in the city, and vehicular movement was slow at various places including Connaught Place, ITO, Vikas Marg and South Extension.
Heavy showers also lashed parts of Punjab and Haryana.
Chandigarh, where strong winds snapped power supply in many areas, received 40 mm of rainfall. Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab and Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra and Bhiwani in Haryana were also drenched by showers.
Several parts of Himachal Pradesh, including capital Shimla, were lashed by intermittent showers, leading to a marginal drop in temperatures across the state.
Reports of rains were received from Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur, Solan and Sirmaur districts, causing drop of one to two degrees.
Light to moderate rain occurred at isolated places over eastern Uttar Pradesh, but the weather remained mainly dry in other areas of the state.
Sizzling heat, however, swept North India before the rains came, and mercury settled well above normal in most places.
While Narnaul was the hottest place in Haryana at 46 degrees Celsius, Amritsar recorded the highest maximum temperature in Punjab at 44.8 degrees.
There was no let up in heat wave in Rajasthan as temperatures there continued to hover well above the normal.
Churu and Bikaner were the hottest places in the state with a maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius.
