North sizzles, Allahabad records 48.3 deg C

There was no respite from the intense heatwave in North India on Saturday as temperatures soared to as high as 48.3 degrees Celsius in Allahabad, while Delhi also experienced a hot day with the mercury settling at 44.9 degrees Celsius.

Excessively high temperatures were recorded in most parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan while Nagpur in Maharashtra recorded the highest maximum temperature in the last 11 years, with the mercury soaring to 47.3 degrees Celsius.

A day after experiencing the hottest day this summer, the maximum temperature in Delhi settled at five notches above normal, and slightly below from Friday’s 45 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh also reeled under scorching heat as the maximum temperature remained above normal in the state with Allahabad sizzling at 48.3 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures were above normal in Meerut, Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly and Agra divisions and appreciably above normal in Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Jhansi divisions.

Blistering heat also scorched Rajasthan as the mercury soared to 46.8 degrees Celsius, the highest ever in the last three decades. It was 33 years ago, in 1981, when the highest temperature in the city was recorded at 46.3. The highest temperature in the state was recorded at Phalodi, which sizzled at 49 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours.

The minimum temperature in most places in Rajasthan remained at 37 degrees Celsius or higher. Places like Churu , Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, saw between 46.3 and 47.8 degrees Celsius. The mercury touched the 45-degree Celsius level in most places in Punjab and Haryana.

Hisar was the hottest in both states as it sizzled at 46.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal. Among other areas in Haryana, Ambala saw a high of 44 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, while in Narnaul, the mercury settled at 42 degrees Celsius. 

The Union Territory of Chandigarh recorded the maximum at 44.4 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Amritsar was at 46 degrees Celsius, while Ludhiana and Patiala sizzled at 45.5 and 45 degrees Celsius.