JOIN USPeople across north India experienced yet another pleasant day on Saturday as moderate to heavy rains lashed most parts of the region confining the temperature to below normal levels.
In the national capital, the maximum temperature settled at 37.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. Delhiites woke up to light showers and partly cloudy skies, with more rains lashing the city later in the day.
According to the MeT Department, Delhi received 1.3-mm rainfall in 24 hours till 8:30 am, while the rain gauge measured 2.6-mm of rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 am.
However, as rains lashed the city, humidity levels soared to between 55 and 83 per cent during the day, causing some discomfort to Delhiites.
On Friday, mercury had settled at a pleasant 36.4 degrees Celsius following overnight rains, which came as a relief for Delhiites who were reeling under hot and dry conditions with temperatures soaring above 45 degree Celsius last week. Light to moderate rains and thundershowers also occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours, bringing respite from the heatwave conditions.
The state’s maximum temperature was 45 degrees Celsius recorded at Orai. The heatwave conditions also eased in Punjab and Haryana following rains accompanied by thunderstorms in several parts of the region in the past 24 hours.
Maximum temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius at most places, though high humidity caused some discomfort. The Union Territory of Chandigarh had a high of 37.8 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal. The city recorded rainfall of 34.3-mm in the past 24 hours.
The MeT office in Chandigarh has predicted light to moderate rains or thundershowers at isolated places in Punjab and Haryana in the next 24 hours.
In the East, the sizzling summer of the last few days received a welcome break as rains lashed Kolkata on Saturday afternoon. The temperature, which hovered around 40 degrees Celsius, went down considerably, bringing in much-needed relief to the metropolis and rest of south Bengal. Till 2:30 pm, the mercury was recorded at 39.5 degrees Celsius, almost six degrees above normal. The humidity, that hovered around 51 percent, worsened the heat condition. Heavy showers and thunderstorms that started around 4 pm cooled down the atmosphere. But the weather remained somewhat muggy after the rain stopped.
Although the regional meteorological office had predicted a very hot weekend, with mercury likely to cross the 40 degrees mark, people seemed happy with the rain proving the Met office otherwise.
The Met department has also warned of another spell of heatwave from Sunday onwards in most districts of south Bengal, forcing the state government to extend the summer vacation from June 19 to June 25 to give students a respite.
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to extend the summer holiday in all state-run schools till June 25,” state education minister Partha Chatterjee said.
This is the second time since mid-May that the summer holiday has been extended in state-run schools, when most districts were reeling under a heat wave.