Rains breaks dry spell in North West

Chandigarh, Oct 16 (UNI) Dark clouds hovered over parts of North West India, as a brief afternoon spell of rain broke the month long dry spell in parts of Haryana and Punjab.

Ludhiana recorded 0.9 mm rain this afternoon, while the Union Territory of Chandigarh and its sorrounding areas were lashed by light to moderate rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. There were also reports of hail at certain places in and around Chandigarh.

According to the met office here, light to moderate rain is likely to occur in parts of Punjab and Haryana. Light to moderate rain in parts of Himachal Pardesh and snowfall in the tribal areas is likely to occur in the next 24 hours.

The rainfall in the next 24 hours is likely to lead to a fall in day and night temperatures, in the plains of the North West. The maximum temperatures in the region at most places in Punjab and Haryana was hovering around 30 to 33 degrees Celsius, while the minimum at most places was one to four degrees below normal.

The maximum in Chandigarh was recorded at 32.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 16 degrees, one degree below normal.

The maximum at Amritsar was 32.4 degrees, a fall of two degrees from yesterday and the minimum was 13 degrees, four degrees below normal. The maximum at Ludhiana and Patiala was recorded at 32.6 degrees and 32.8 degrees respectively.

Ambala recorded a maximum temperature of 32.6 degrees while the minimum was 15 degrees, two degrees below normal. The maximum in Karnal was recorded at 30.6 degrees.

Shimla, the capital hill resort of Himachal Pradesh recorded 5 mm of rain while Bhuntar in Kullu district received 3 mm rain. The maximum in Shimla was 19.7 degrees Celsius, while in Sundernagar in Mandi district, it was 29.8 degrees.

The popular tourist resort of Manali recorded a maximum temperature of 19.5 degrees while Dharamshala was fairly warm at 25.4 degrees.

UNI