In Uttar Pradesh, 27 people have been killed and hundreds of acres of standing wheat crop destroyed by fire, as the mercury soared above 44 degree Celsius. Met department officials said the temperature hovered around 43 degree in many places, while Varanasi registered 44.7 degree.

Director of the Met department J P Gupta said the heat is four to five degrees above normal, as “loo” (hot wind) is sweeping through the state nearly a month earlier than usual.Conditions in New Delhi was hardly pleasant, as Delhi sizzled at 41.6 degrees for the second successive day. Combined with hot winds and dust storms in some places, the heat made commuting in the city difficult.

Heat has also been wreaking havoc in Orissa, with several parts of the state -including capital Bhubaneswar- registering record day-time temperatures in a decade.

Patna sizzling
Patnaites are groaning as the State Capital witnessed the hottest day of the season on Monday. The Met office at Patna airport recorded the maximum temperature as high as 43.1 degree celsius. The soaring temperature, coupled with frequent power cuts, has compounded the denizens’ woes. The load-shedding has led to water crisis too, which, in turn, has aggravated the problem. But weatherman says there is very less chance of any respite from the rising mercury.

“Unless the wind pattern changes from westerly or northwesterly to an easterly direction, or there is a cloud formation, the climate is unlikely to change,” said Animesh Chanda, Director, Meteorological Office, Patna.

The westerly wind from Rajasthan and Gujarat combined with clear sky and bright sunshine is heating the earth’s surface, thereby making the temperature unbearable,” said Chanda.The oppressive weather conditions did not spare neighbouring West Bengal, where temperatures of 45 degree has been reported at West Midnapore, Burdwan, Purulia, Bankura and parts of Birbhum districts.

Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacherjee had further bad news for the state, reporting that the current 1000 MW power shortfall would continue for two more months. Unable to procure power from the central grid, West Bengal's power authorities have asked citizens to switch off air conditioners to conserve electricity.Met department sources said the maximum temperature rose to 40.9 degrees Celsius in Kolkata on Monday, which was 14 degrees Celsius above the average. “Monday’s maximum temperature was one of the highest recorded temperatures in April in the past 10 years,” an official at the Alipur Meteorological Office said.

Atop a grim power situation in Tamil Nadu, day temperatures soared at many places across the state, ushering in a heat wave for at least the next two days. Chennai recorded a maximum of 38.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal according to weathermen. Temperatures also shot up in other important cities and towns across the State.

Rain in Kashmir
While rest of the country is reeling under heat wave, weather in Kashmir presented a pleasant look on Monday, reports DHNS from Srinagar. The rains which started since Sunday evening continued till Monday afternoon. The downpour brought down the mercury level and made the weather conditions pleasant.