Heatwave grips North India though mercury dips in Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) Heatwave conditions gripped North India as mercury continued to soar today though duststorms in the national capital brought the temperature down by a few notches.

Soaring temperatures in Northern part of Karnataka forced the authorities to change the office timings of state government employees.

Heatwave conditions prevailed in many parts of Punjab and some parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The mercury kept its upward movement, staying above normal in the region.

While Hisar in Haryana was the hottest place, recording maximum temperature at 44.6 degrees Celsius, Ambala and Karnal, recorded 37.6 degrees and 37.5 degrees respectively.

A severe heatwave swept through Punjab where Amritsar reeled under 42.7 degrees, seven degrees above normal, while Patiala recorded 39.4 degrees, two degrees above normal. The mercury, however, declined in Chandigarh to 37.2 degrees, which was still one degree above normal.

The temperatures also rose in Himachal Pradesh with Shimla recording 26.5 degrees, six degrees above normal. Bhuntar in Kullu district recorded 34.3 degrees, Sundernagar in Mandi district registered 36.2 degrees and Kalpa recorded 24.1 degrees.

The Met office predicted light to moderate rain or thundershower at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and duststorm or thunderstorm with light to moderate rain at isolated places in Haryana and Punjab during the next 24 hours.

Heatwave conditions gripped Madya Pradesh where mercury shot up to 43 degrees with no signs of decline in temperatures in the coming days.

Regional Meteorological department director D P Dubey told UNI that heat wave conditions would intensify in the coming days.

Scorching heat had claimed one life in Sheopur district in the beginning of April.

Mercury rose to 45 degrees C in Hoshangabad, while Bhopal recorded a high of 43.4 degrees.

The maximum temperature in Kolkata was recorded at 35.8 degrees while the minimum was 27.1 degrees, one degree above normal.

The humidity was high at 94 per cent and the met office forecast no rainfall in the city over the next 24 hours.

Several parts of Karnataka also reeled under severe heatwave with as mercury touched 42 degrees in some northern districts.

The worst affected regions were in North Karnataka including Gulbarga, Raichur, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Koppal and Bellary Districts.

In North Karnataka, the office hours has been changed for the benefit of the state government employees. They now function from 0830 hrs to 1330 hrs.

Duststorms brought some relief for Delhiites from the heatwave sweeping the national capital since the last week with the mercury dropping to 40.4 degrees.

The weatherman forecast duststorms and thunderstorms in the city accompanied by squalls in the coming days also.

''Current meteorological analysis suggests possibility of duststorm/thunderstorm over plains of Northwest India. consequently, duststorms or thunderstorms are likely over Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh during the next two to three days,''the Met office said.

They also forecast drop in maximum temperature in Delhi to 39 degrees tomorrow.

Day temperatures were appreciably above normal in Arunachal Pradesh, east Asom in some parts of Konkan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Vidarbha. It was above normal in Manipur, Uttaranchal, north Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and in some parts of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu. They were below normal in east Orissa and south Jharkhand.

UNI