Lightning claims woman's life in Punjab

Chandigarh, May 4 (UNI) A woman was killed due to lightning in Punjab while the mercury dipped in the plains following rainfall, providing respite to people from schorching heat in the region.

Lightning struck the woman, identified as Sukhwinder Kaur, in the courtyard of her house at Veela village in Gurdaspur district last evening, killing her. Another woman sustained burn injuries and was admitted to a hospital at Beas.

With this death, the toll in the heat wave and lightining during this summer rose to six in Punjab so far.

The temperatures across Punjab and Haryana marginally plummeted in the wake of showers and dusty winds but rose in Himachal Pradesh.

The holy city of Amritsar, where heat wave conditions abated only yesterday, recorded a further fall in the temperature to 37.1 degrees Celsius. The town reported trace rainfall. The maximum temperature also slightly dropped at Ludhiana following rain, recording 36.2 degrees, two degrees below normal. However, the mercury rose to 37.1 degrees at Patiala despite rainfall.

Hissar, which usually remains the hottest place in Haryana, recorded a fall in the mercury to 38.3 degrees, one degree below normal. The temperatures, dipped at Karnal and Ambala, too as these places were also lashed by rain. Karnal recorded 33.6 degrees, four degrees below normal, and Ambala 35.8 degrees, two degrees below normal.

However, the mercury slightly rose in Chandigarh and its adjoining areas even though the city experienced brief spells of rain last night and today. The city recorded 36.6 degrees.

The mercury also showed upward movement in Himachal Pradesh with Sundernagar in Mandi district registering 34.7 degrees while Bhuntar in Kullu district showed 31.0 degrees, two degrees above normal. The mercury hovered three degrees above normal at Shimla recording 24.7 degrees.

The Met office predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers at few places in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana during the next 24 hours. Thundersquall with speed exceeding 45 km per hour is likely to occur at isolated places in the region during the period.

UNI