Rains on in North west, teasing heat in eastern India

New Delhi, July 13 (UNI) Heavy to moderate showers continued to lash North West India providing the much-needed respite from sultry weather conditions even as Jaipur and Kolkata remained hot and humid.

Himachal Pradesh was lashed by light to moderate rains during the last 24 hours, the Met Office said. Shimla town recorded 14 mm of rain this morning after experiencing an unusual dry day yesterday, while Sundernagar remained the wettest place in the state with 39 mm rain.

The Met office said Palampur in Kangra district received 30.4 mm rain followed by 18.6 mm at Dharamshala, 12 mm at Una town and three mm rain each at Bhuntar and Kalpa.

Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds lashed Chandigarh and the adjoining areas of Punjab and Haryana. In Punjab, Amritsar witnessed 18.4 mm rain and the maximum temperature was recorded at 30.8 degrees. The maximum temperature in Ludhiana was 22.4 degrees and Patiala recorded 28.6 degrees.

The Met office has predicted heavy rain or thundershowers at few places in Himachal Pradesh and in the northern area of Haryana and Punjab during the next 48 hours.

Heavy showers lashed Delhi for the second successive day as the minimum temperature dropped to 26 degrees, one degree below normal. The weatherman has forecast enhanced rainfall activity in Delhi in the next two to three days under the influence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over North Bay of Bengal.

Meanwhile, Jaipur remained hot and humid even as heavy to moderate rains were reported in some places in the state during the last twenty four hours. Kama and Deeg in Bharatpur reported 130 mm and 80 mm of rain respectively while Jahajpur in Bhilwara district reported 70 mm, Antha in Bara district recording 60, Kota and Bara city receiving 50 mm, Ajmer 56 mm, Kishangarh and Alwar recorded 40 mm and 30 mm of rain.

It was a hot and sultry day in Kolkata where the maximum temperature in the city and its adjoining areas soared much above the normal level. The maximum temperature recorded was 36.1 degrees, four degrees above normal while the minimum was 28.3 degrees, two degrees above normal.

The South West monsoon remained active over Kerala while very light rain occurred in Lakshadweep. Heavy to very heavy rains were reported in Perumbavoor 14 cm, Vaithiry 13 cm, Peerumedu and Konni 10 cm each, Vatakara and Mananthavady 8 cm each and Mannarakkad 7 cm, the Met Office said fishermen have been warned that strong onshore winds from the Westerly direction with speeds occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph were likely off the Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep during the next 48 hours.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and many places in Sub-Himalayan west Bengal and Sikkim, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himalchal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar.

Rain or thundershowers are also likely to occur at a few places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Gujarat, madhya Maharashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep and at isolated places in Marathwada, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu and interior Karnataka.

Rain or thundershowers have occurred at most places in Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and at many places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar.

Rain or thundershowers have also occurred at a few places in Asom and Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, east Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Gujarat, madhya Maharashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh and at isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, west Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra and Kutch, Marathwada, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, north interior Karnataka and south interior Karnataka.

The southwest monsoon has been subdued over Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, west Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra and Kutch, Marathwada, Telangana, Rayalaseema and north interior Karnataka.

UNI