By IANS
New Delhi : Many parts of northern plains of the country received unexpected showers Thursday, bringing down mercury in the region.
Showers lashed Delhi from Wednesday night, and 2.8 mm of rainfall was recorded by 8.30 a.m. Thursday. The maximum temperature was 7 degrees Celsius below normal, at 27.3 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was 18.3 degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the sudden rainfall to what it said were “western disturbances” over north Pakistan.
“In summers, generally, whenever there is sudden rainfall, it is because of the western disturbances. This sudden change of weather pattern here is because of the same reason,” an IMD official told IANS.
He said cyclonic circulation over west Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Pakistan also caused the unexpected rainfall.
Although the rainfall stopped in the morning and the sun was soon up, the weather remained cool and pleasant throughout the day. But some parts of Delhi got a drizzle in Thursday evening.
Delhiites fully enjoyed the pleasant weather. Sarita Sahay, a professional singer, said the sudden change in the weather had definitely uplifted her mood.
“It’s such a lovely weather… and very unexpected. Although I have to be extra careful for any throat problems since changing weather generally brings health problems along with it, I enjoyed my riyaaz (practice) thoroughly today,” Sahay said.
The IMD official added: “Even the adjoining areas of Delhi are experiencing a pleasant weather. The weather will remain pleasant at least for a few more days.”
In Agra, India’s biggest tourist destination about 200 km south of here, the rain and hailstorm uprooted trees and hoardings.
Said Sudhir Gupta, a resident of Agra: “The whole of Wednesday it was bright and sunny. But as the night advanced we saw dark clouds menacingly moving ahead. A thunderstorm disrupted power supply.”
Thundershowers accompanied by hail hit Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla in the wee hours of Thursday, forcing residents to bring out their woollens once again.
Due to rains and hail, the mercury fell to 7.5 degrees Celsius in Shimla. The maximum was 14.4 degrees Celsius, almost six degrees below what it was Wednesday.
There have been reports of hail and ground frost damage to many apple orchards in the state which are in full bloom.
The higher reaches in the tribal belt of Lahaul& Spiti, Kinnaur and Bharmaur had light to moderate snowfall.
The following were the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall in major cities for the 24 hours till Thursday morning, with figures in brackets denoting deviations from the average.
City Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Rainfall
(C) (C) (mm)
New Delhi 27.3 (-7) 18.3 (+1) 2.8
Mumbai 30.6 (-2) 20.8 (-1) Nil
Chennai 34.0 (+1) 26.8 (+2) Nil
Kolkata 34.7 (-1) 25.8 (+2) Nil
Ahmedabad 35.7 (-2) 22.9 (+2) Nil
Bangalore 30.0 (-3) 21.9 (+1) Nil
Bhopal 35.6 (0) 20.8 (+2) Nil
Bhubaneswar 36.7 (+1) 25.1 (+1) Nil
Chandigarh 32.6 (+1) 17.8 (+1) 3.2
Dehradun 31.6 (+1) 16.3 (+1) 11.1
Goa 32.0 (0) 20.6 (-3) Nil
Guwahati 27.0 (-4) 16.2 (-2) 6.2
Hyderabad 35.4 (-1) 23.4 (+1) Nil
Jaipur 33.8 (0) 14.6 (-4) 2.0
Lucknow 34.4 (-2) 18.1 (0) Nil
Nagpur 38.3 (0) 21.5 (0) Nil
Patna 35.0 (-1) 20.5 (+1) Nil
Pune 34.5 (-2) 14.8 (-3) Nil
Srinagar 12.8 (-4) 6.0 (0) 9.0
Thiruvananthapuram 32.2 (-1) 24.2 (-1) Nil