Hottest day in Srinagar, heavy monsoon showers in Kolkata

New Delhi, July 2 (UNI) North India reeled under sultry conditions, Srinagar witnessed the hottest day of this season, incessant rains lashed Mumbai for the third consecutive day and Kolkata breathed a sigh of relief after heavy monsoon showers today.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director L C Ram told UNI that the maximum temperature in Srinagar today was at 33.5 degree Celsius, which is so far the highest of this summer.

The national Capital too witnessed hot and humid conditions with the maximum temperature recording 39.4 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal. The IMD, however, said the conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of northwest India, including Delhi, during the next 48 hours.

The southwest monsoon has been vigorous in Orissa and active in Konkan and Goa and Madhya Maharashtra.

Yesterday's well marked low pressure area over North Bay of Bengal off Orissa coast and Gangetic West Bengal further intensified into a deep depression today and lay centered at 250 kms south east of Balasore.

Meteorological sources here said the deep depression is likely to intensify further and under its impact, heavy to very heavy rain will occur at few places and extremely heavy rains at isolated places over Orissa during the next 48 hours. The fishermen had been advised not to venture into the open sea during the next 48 hours as the sea would be very rough.

Low pressure over the north Bay of Bengal off north Orissa and West Bengal coast persisted with associated upper air cyclonic circulation extending upto mid-tropospheric levels. Hyderabad Meteorological Centre Director Satya Kumar said ''the condition is likely to concentrate into a depression and rainfall is likely to increase over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, with heavy to very heavy showers at a few places during next two to three days''.

Kolkata too breathed a sigh of relief following heavy rains for few hours during the day after several weeks' of hot and humid weather.

Rainfall is likely to continue for another 24 hours in Mumbai and some suburbs, according to the meteorological department here. The incessant rains had lashed the metropolis and its suburbs since the last two days.

The Southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, some more parts of West Uttar Pradesh.

In the regions where the southwest monsoon has yet to set in, day temperatures were appreciably above normal in west Rajasthan and were normal over Haryana and Punjab. Monsoon clouds continued to hover in parts of Punjab, Haryana for the second successive day, while parts of Himachal Pradesh experienced light to moderate rain.

Rain or thundershowers have occurred at most places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Jharkhand, coastal Karnataka and Kerala and at a few places in West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, Saurashtra and Kutch, Marathwada, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and north interior Karnataka.

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