Rain brought little relief from hot conditions in the northern states which witnessed unusually high temperatures over the last fortnight, even as the mercury breached the 40-degree mark at many places in Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Banda in Uttar Pradesh was the hottest place in the country at 44.4 degrees Celsius.
The untimely showers have left farmers worrying for their standing wheat crop, but may minimise the possibility of forest fires in the hills by depositing enough moisture in the air.
Delhi, which on Thursday recorded the maximum temperature for March in the last seven years at 38.3 degrees Celsius, had a pleasant start to the day after overnight showers brought down the minimum temperature to 20.1 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperature in the city settled at 34.5 degrees Celsius. The city received 24.6 mm rainfall, the highest on an April day in the last five years.
While Palam station recorded 14.2 mm, Ridge recorded 0.8 mm and Ayanagar 76 mm rain.
Light showers in several parts of Punjab and Haryana eased hot conditions.
Intermittent rain lashed many parts of Uttarakhand, bringing a nip in the air and causing a sharp drop in temperature which fell by 15-16 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, two people were killed and 10 injured, including two police personnel, in a lightning strike in Himachal Pradesh’s Rampur district.
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