Hot weather continues unabated

Bikaner and Banda record 46 Celsius

Hot weather conditions continued unabated in many parts of the country on Saturday, with Bikaner and Banda in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh both recording a maximum temperature of 46degrees Celsius.

Jaisalmer and Sriganganagar in Rajasthan recorded a maximum of 44.5 degrees, while Churu settled at 45.4 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

Delhiites continued to reel under scorching heat for the second consecutive day, with the maximum temperature settling at 42.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average.

In Telangana, heat wave conditions prevailed at isolated places with Hyderabad receiving sporadic rains.

“Heat wave conditions are very likely to prevail at isolated places in districts of Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Medak and Khammam of Telangana during next 48 hours,” a Meteorological Department bulletin said.

Casualties

Meanwhile, as per the State Disaster Management Department’s latest data issued on May 9, around 260 people lost their lives in Telangana due to the harsh weather.

The highest number of deaths (80) was reported from Nalgonda district in the state, it said.

Heat wave conditions also persisted in western Odisha, while thundersquall brought some respite to coastal districts of the state.

Bolangir recorded the day’s highest temperature in the state at 44.6 degrees Celsius followed by Talcher at 43.8 degrees Celsius.

The mercury, however, dropped by more than 5 degrees Celsius to settle at 37 degrees Celsius in the state capital of Bhubaneswar.

The weather remained pleasant in West Bengal with the maximum temperature at 38.6 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab and Haryana, the maximum temperatures stayed above 40 degrees Celsius with the blistering heat wave sweeping across the two states.

Haryana’s Hisar at 44 degrees Celsius was the hottest place in the state, even as the city was lashed by overnight rains at 1.3 mm, the MeT department report said.

Union Territory of Chandigarh, with overnight rainfall of 0.7 mm, recorded its high at 40.3 degrees Celsius, one notch above normal.