Heat wave sears north India, rains likely by July 10

Delhi's fourth 'heat wave day' of this month saw the mercury soaring to 41.8 degrees Celsius

North India sizzled under heat wave conditions on Thursday owing to a delay in the arrival of monsoon with the weather department forecasting rain-laden easterly winds covering the region by July 10.

The national capital's fourth "heat wave day" of this month saw the mercury soaring to 41.8 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal. It had reeled under heat wave on July 1, July 2 and July 7 also.

For the plains, a heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is more than 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above the normal.

Read more: Over 7 lakh deaths in India per year linked to abnormal temperatures: Lancet study

The India Meteorological Department has forecast thunderstorms with rain in the city on Friday.

Delhi's bordering city of Gurgaon in Haryana experienced a maximum temperature of 43.7 degrees Celsius, six notches above the normal as there was no let-up in the hot weather conditions in the state and neighbouring Punjab.

Among other places in Haryana, Narnaul, Hisar, Rohtak and Ambala recorded their maximum temperatures at 43.3 degrees Celsius 42.8 degrees Celsius, 41.8 degrees Celsius and 40.8 degrees Celsius respectively.

In Punjab, the maximum temperatures in Amritsar and Patiala settled at 40 degrees Celsius and 41.4 degrees Celsius, up to six notches above the normal. Bathinda recorded a high of 40.4 degrees Celsius.

Amid the blazing heat, Haryana saw its peak power demand rise by 11.25 per cent from what it was last year. A top official in the electricity department said Haryana's power utilities have met the highest ever peak demand of 12,120 MW on July 7 by supplying 2,638 lakh units without imposing any power cut to any of the categories of consumers.

However, Punjab witnessed unscheduled load shedding. The state is reeling under an unprecedented power shortage with the opposition blaming the Congress government for failing to ensure round-the-clock power to people.

Heat wave conditions prevailed in parts of Rajasthan also as no rainfall was recorded in major districts of the state.

Sriganganagar was the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 44.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Pilani 43.2 degrees Celsius, Churu 43 degrees Celsius, Alwar 42.8 degrees Celsius, Dholpur 42.5 degrees Celsius and Pali 42 degrees Celsius.

Heavy rains in parts of Uttarakhand led to the collapse of a concrete bridge on Thursday, cutting off Darma, Vyas and Chaudas valleys from the rest of the border districts in the state.

The bridge was built over the Kulagar rivulet on the Tanakpur-Tawaghat national highway, close to the Indo-China border.

According to the India Meteorological Department, moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal has started to establish over eastern India. It is likely to spread into northwest India covering Punjab and north Haryana by July 10.

The southwest monsoon is likely to advance over the remaining parts of west Uttar Pradesh, some more parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and Delhi around 10th July. Widespread rainfall is very likely in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in the next five days.

A low-pressure area is likely to form in the Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coasts around July 11 which is likely to bring scattered to widespread rains over northwest India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and east Rajasthan.