Almost the entire country, barring a few eastern and southern states, was in the grip of a severe heatwave with Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh reeling at 47.2 degrees Celsius.

Intense heatwave conditions prevailed in the national capital where the maximum was recorded at 44.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature stood at 33.6 degrees Celsius. Areas under Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories recorded a maximum temperature of 45.8 degrees Celsius, 43.6 degrees Celsius, 45.5 degrees Celsius and 45.2 degrees Celsius respectively. 

Punjab and Haryana continued to reel under blistering heat with Amritsar being the hottest in the two states at 46 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Ludhiana recorded a maximum of 44.5 degrees Celsius while Patiala sizzled at 44.8 degree Celsius, five degrees above normal.

In Haryana, Hisar was the hottest recording a high of 44.2 degrees Celsius while Karnal and Ambala recorded 43.8 degrees Celsius each. The weather in Rajasthan remained dry and temperatures fell by one to two degrees in most places. Dabok received 2 cm of rainfall since Sunday and Churu was the hottest at 45.5 degrees Celsius. Sriganganagar recorded a high of 44.5 degrees Celsius followed by Kota 44.3 degrees Celsius, Pilani 43.4 degrees Celsius, Bikaner 42.9 degrees Celsius and Jaipur 42.7 degrees Celsius.

People continued to suffer under severe heatwave conditions in most parts of Uttar Pradesh with Jhansi being hottest in the state at 47.2 degrees Celsius. Banda recorded a high of 46.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Allahabad 46.4 degrees Celsius and Agra 45.4 degrees Celsius.

Cloudy and windy conditions brought the temperature down in some places of Bihar, which has been in the grip of scorching heat for the past several days. Gaya was the hottest place in the state recording a maximum 38.5 degrees Celsius. Light rainfall occurred at one or two places in northeast parts of the state.

Some places in Odisha too witnessed a drop in the mercury following rains even as western parts of the state continued to sizzle. The mercury breached the 40-degree mark in nine places. Hirakud was the hottest place in the state recording a maximum temperature of 43.9 degrees Celsius, followed by 43.8 degrees Celsius in Jharsuguda and 43.7 degrees Celsius in Sambalpur.

Heatwave conditions prevailed at many places in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Rainfall occurred in parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Kerala, coastal Karnataka and isolated parts of Assam, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh.

Source: Timesofoman