Respite from heatwave in northwest India likely over next 3 days

New Delhi, May 21: Northwestern parts of India, reeling under heatwave likely to have some respite over the three days as an extra-tropical weather system is likely to bring showers over the region with peak intensity rains forecast for Monday.

The weather office said light to moderate rainfall was likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, while Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were expected to experience scattered showers over the next two days.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast a fall in maximum temperatures by 3-4 degrees Celsius over most parts of Northwest India during the next three days and no significant change thereafter.

Isolated hailstorms were also likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and east Rajasthan over the next three days, it said.

As northern India sweated in out in hot weather conditions, parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu experienced heavy rainfall with Thodupuzha in Idukki witnessing 13 cm rainfall, Kozhikode (9 cm), Ernakulam (8 cm), Valparai in Coimbatore (8 cm).

The Indian Air Force deployed choppers and transport aircraft to aid relief and rescue efforts in Assam, where 29 of the 35 districts have been affected by floods due to heavy rains. Dhubri in Assam received 10 cm rainfall on Saturday.

The weather office has forecast fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam-Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura during next two days.

The south-west monsoon was expected to reach Kerala early next week, the weather office had said.

Under the influence of a strong cross-equatorial flow from Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Sea in lower tropospheric levels, widespread thundersquall, lightning and gusty winds were expected over Andaman and Nicobar Islands over the next five days, the weatherman said.