Blistering heat persists in parts of country, rains in some places

Scorching heat continued in many parts of the country with Ongole in Andhra Pradesh sizzling at 45.5 degrees Celsius even as rainfall occurred at some places, including in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

It was a moderately warm day in the national capital with the maximum temperature settling at 39.6 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature settled at 26.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal and the humidity level hovered around 19 per cent on the lower side and 56 per cent on the higher side.

Blistering heat persisted in most parts of Odisha, mainly in the western region with both Balangir and Titlagarh becoming the hottest places in the state recording a high of 44.8 degrees Celsius.

As the mercury breached the 43-degree mark in seven towns and the 40-degree mark in at least 12 places in the state, the MeT office said that heatwave conditions may intensify.

While Jharsuguda town recorded a maximum temperature of 44.1 degrees Celsius, it was 43.8 degrees Celsius at Sambalpur, 43.7 degrees Celsius at Bhawanipatna, 43.5 degrees Celsius at both Sonepur and Hirakud and 42.1 degrees Celsius at both Angul and Talcher.

Some areas of the coastal belt in the state, however, got some relief because of a thunder squall.

Two sunstroke deaths have so far been reported in the state, one each from Bargarh and Angul districts.
Ongole in Andhra Pradesh recorded a high of 45.5 degrees Celsius, while in Telangana's Khammam the maximum temperature was 44 degrees Celsius.

In Rajasthan, most places witnessed a slight respite from the simmering heat as maximum temperatures dipped by a few notches in the state.

Churu was the hottest place in the state recording a high of 40.6 degrees Celsius followed by Kota at 39.9 degrees Celsius, Jaipur and Bikaner both at 39 degrees Celsius and Jodhpur at 38.8 degrees Celsius.

Maximum temperatures hovered close to normal at most places in Haryana and Punjab, a day after many parts in the two states witnessed light rainfall.

In Haryana, Hisar registered a high of 39.6 degrees Celsius while Ambala recorded a maximum temperature of 38.9 degrees Celsius.

Amritsar in Punjab, which received heavy rainfall yesterday, recorded a high of 34.2 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperatures in Ludhiana and Patiala was 37.5 degrees Celsius and 39.3 degrees Celsius respectively.

The weather was dry in eastern Uttar Pradesh while light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in the western parts of the state.

Hamirpur was the hottest place in the state, where the mercury touched a high of 44.6 degrees Celsius.
The mercury rose marginally at most places in Himachal Pradesh even as several areas witnessed moderate rainfall.

Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district received 13 mm rains while Nainadevi and Jhandutta both recorded 10 mm rainfall, followed by Solan 4 mm, Manali and Salooni both 3 mm. Kandaghat, Shimla and Kalpa each received 2 mm rainfall.

The maximum temperature in Una was 35.6 degrees Celsius while Nahan and Sundernagar recoded a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius and 32.5 degrees Celsius respectively.

According to the IMD, thunderstorm occurred at isolated palaces in gangetic West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Meghalaya and Tripura.