Scorching heat in Odisha; rainfall in northern, eastern parts

Heatwave conditions intensified in Odisha today even as many places in the northern and eastern parts of the country received rainfall, with landslides in Arunachal Pradesh throwing life out of gear.

The maximum temperature in the national capital settled at 37.8 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.

The minimum temperature was at 25.6 degrees Celsius, while humidity levels oscillated between 51 and 23 per cent.

Heatwave condition intensified in Odisha where Titlagarh was the hottest place at 45.5 degrees Celsius. The state government has announced summer vacation in schools from tomorrow, a week ahead of the scheduled date.

The mercury breached the 42-degree mark in nine towns and the 40-degree mark in at least 14 places. The state MeT office has forecast that the heat wave will intensify.

Two sunstroke deaths have so far been reported in the state -- one each from Bargarh and Angul districts.
Angul recorded a maximum temperature of 44.s1 degrees Celsius, while it was 43.8 in Hirakud, 43.6 in both Balangir and Talcher, 43.5 in Bhawanipatna and 43 degrees Celsius in Sundargarh.

Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh recorded its maximum at 44 degrees Celsius.

Incessant rains over the last few days has triggered landslides and flood-like situation in many parts of Arunachal Pradesh throwing normal life out of gear.

Three construction workers died in a landslide at Palin Town under Kra Daadi district on Saturday.

The continuous downpour has caused havoc in the state capital inundating a portion of the NH-415 and causing landslides in certain areas, officials said.

The water level in many major rivers and their tributaries has been rising considerably following the incessant rains.

In Rajasthan, light to moderate rains occurred at isolated places bringing down the mercury.

The maximum temperature in Kota was 39.4 degrees Celsius. Jaisalmer and Churu recorded a high of 39 degrees Celsius each.

Phalodi in Jodhpur recorded 3 cm rainfall while Bikaner and Nokh (in Jaisalmer) registered 1 cm of rainfall each.

Most of the places in Haryana and Punjab had a respite from hot weather conditions as maximum temperatures hovered close to normal today, two days after light rains lashed parts of the two states.

Light to moderate rain and thundershower occurred at isolated places in eastern Uttar Pradesh, while the weather remained dry in the western parts of the state.

Rainfall was recorded in Sitapur, Kaiserganj, Ghazipur, Maharajganj, Bahraich, Allahabad, Bindki, Khalilabad, Biswan and Lalganj, the state MeT department said.

The day temperatures rose appreciably in Varanasi and Allahabad. Hamirpur was the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius.

Minimum temperatures dropped by two to three notches in Himachal Pradesh even as scattered rainfall was recorded in some parts of the state.

Bharwain in Kangra district was the wettest with 75 mm rains while Manali and Jhandutta received 22 mm and  20 mm rains.

Notwithstanding the light rain and windstorm late last night, the mercury rose in Bihar today with Gaya recording the highest maximum temperature at 41.1 degrees Celsius.

Patna received 6 mm rains since Sunday evening while Bhagalpur recorded 6.3 mm rainfall and Purnea 23.7 mm.

Bhagalpur and Purnea recorded maximum temperatures of 36.7 degrees Celsius and 33.5 degrees Celsius respectively.