Hot weather prevails in North, Northwest, 3 more killed in South

New Delhi, July 20 (UNI) Hot and humid conditions continued to prevail in North and Northwest India today, while rain-related incidents claimed two lives in Kerala and one in Karnataka.

The toll in rain-related incidents in monsoon-battered Kozhikode district of Kerala rose to 21 with the recovery of two more bodies, while 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force were touring the district to provide assistance to the needy.

According to sources, nearly 2,000 people, evacuated from low-lying areas, were taken to 70 relief camps set up at various parts of the state. Efforts were being made to provide the camp inmates with adequate food and other amenities.

A middle-aged man met with a watery grave as he was swept away by the swirling flood water near Napoklu in Kodagu district of Karnataka, taking the death toll in rain-related incidents in the district to five. Meanwhile, after weeks of incessant rainfall, the district witnessed a partially sunny day yesterday. The water levels in river Cauvery and other rivers have also subsided.

In the North, hot and humid conditions continued to make people sweat it out for the third day even as Northwesterlies provided some respite from the humidity, which continued to hover above 70 per cent for the second consecutive day.

However, some respite from warm and humid conditions could be in offing towards the weekend with the weathermen forecasting fresh spells of rainfall in the national capital and plains of North India in the next two to three days under the influence of a Westerly trough.

In the Northwest too, sultry weather conditions prevailed at most places in the plains following rain at isolated places in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh during the past 24 hours.

In Punjab, Nangal Dam site recorded 3.1 mm rainfall overnight while there was no rainfall activity in Haryana.

Heavy rains lashed Dharamshala town of Himachal Pradesh with 106.8 mm rains even as light rains lashed isolated places in the state during the last 24 hrs.

The minimum temperatures across the state continued to rise with Shimla recording a low of 17.3 degrees as compared to 16.7 degrees, while Sundernagar and Bhuntar recording night temperatures of 22.5 and 21.6 degree Celsius respectively, the met office said.

Chandigarh and its adjoining areas experienced partially cloudy weather. Humid conditions prevailed in the city which recorded the maximum humidity at 80 per cent and the minimum at 49 per cent.

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir were also lashed by moderate rain with Jammu recording 7.7 mm rain till this morning.

Meanwhile, the Southwest Monsoon has been active over Bihar and Orissa. It has subdued over Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha, Telangana and north interior Karnataka.

Heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur at most places in Arunachal Pradesh, Asom, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and Kerala.Heavy rains are also likely to occur at many places in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in Lakshadweep, and at many places in south Tamil Nadu, and coastal Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, Konkan, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, north Tamil Nadu, interior Karnataka, and at isolated places in Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada.

UNI