Rains lashed several parts of the country bringing the mercury down and giving respite from the scorching heat.
In the national capital New Delhi it was a cloudy and sunny day in patches today with the mercury hovering below the normal levels.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 35.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, while the minimum settled at 25, normal for this time of the year, the MeT department said.
In northern state of Himachal Pradesh, heavy rains lashed most parts during past 24hours causing fall the in mercury, which stayed two to four degrees below normal, and helped douse the forest fire completely.
The mercury was at 36.0 degrees Celsius at Una which was hottest during the day. Keylong was coldest during the nightwith a low of 3.7 degrees Celsius.
In Uttar Pradesh, light to moderate rains brought down temperatures at isolated places where Jhansi recorded the maximum temperature at 41.2 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, Phalodi town of Jodhpur district was the hottest place in the state with the maximum of 40.5 degrees Celsius followed by Barmer at of 40.3 degrees.
In Punjab and Haryana also temperatures remained below normal at several places. Hisar in Haryana recorded the highest temperature in the state at 38.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. In Punjab, Patiala recorded 37.1.
Seven places in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius compared to 12 yesterday. While the maximum temperature was recorded at Talcher at 42 degrees Celsius state capital Bhubaneswar recorded 41.7 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the office of the state's Special Relief Commissioner said the number of unconfirmed sunstroke deaths has increased from 156 yesterday to 166 today.
In Telangana, IMD said, there was a remarkable fall in maximum temperatures at a few places as heavy rains lashed capital Hyderabad and many other parts of the state.
Meanwhile, Telangana disaster management department said heat-related deaths mounted to 249. "Till today, we've reports that 249 persons have died due to heat-related ailments. All the deaths were confirmed by three-member committees in districts," an official in the disaster management control room said.
In Jharkhand, clouds hovered over several districts today keeping the temperature below 40 degrees Celsius in most parts. However, Chaibasa recorded a maximum of 41.2 degrees Celsius while the state capital Ranchi recorded 38.
