By IANS,
New Delhi : Residents in Delhi Monday heaved a sigh of relief from the sweltering heat as the overcast sky and windy conditions after Sunday’s late afternoon precipitation somewhat brought the temperature down.
People in northern and central India are also likely to get some relief from the blistering sun as the meteorological department has forecast thunderstorms at many places.
Thunderstorms are likely to occur in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in the next 24 hours.
In the Capital, the maximum temperature was around 39 degrees Celsius Monday. The weatherman has forecast thunderstorm and squall at few places in Delhi.
The intense heat wave conditions that prevailed in the northwestern region for past two months would subside and the region will remain relatively cool until Thursday.
The heat wave, however, continued to prevail in Jharkhand Monday. The scorching heat has forced the Ranchi district authorities to direct schools to advance their summer vacations, as temperatures crossed 40 degrees at several places.
Around 10 schools announced the start of summer holidays Monday itself in light of the directive.
“We will close our school from Tuesday,” said D.R. Singh, principal of DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir here.
The heat wave has already claimed four lives in Jharkhand. While the mercury touched 40 degrees Celsius in Ranchi Sunday, it was 44 degrees in Dhanbad. Jamshedpur and Bokaro also saw temperatures of up to 43 degrees Celsius.
The Ranchi district administration had earlier directed schools to change their timings due to the oppressive heat.
While schools began at 6.30 a.m. instead of the usual 8.30 a.m., they were asked to end classes by 11.30 in the morning so that children could reach home by afternoon.
Monday’s highest maximum temperature was recorded at Churu in Rajasthan at 45.4 degrees Celsius.
Rain and thundershowers are likely at many places in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Similar weather conditions are also likely to prevail in the Northeast and eastern India.
Isolated rains are also likely to take place in Chhattisgarh, north Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands.
The following were the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall in major cities for the 24 hours till Monday morning, with figures in brackets denoting deviations from the average. City Maximum Temperature (C) Minimum Temperature (C) Rainfall (mm)
New Delhi 43.0 (+4) 29.0 (+5) TRACE
Mumbai 32.8 (0) 26.5 (+2) Nil
Chennai 39.7 (+5) 27.9 (+1) Nil
Kolkata 35.8 (0) 24.2 (-2) 2.5
Ahmedabad 40.0 (-1) 26.1 (+1) Nil
Bangalore 35.4 (+3) 21.0 (0) Nil
Bhopal 42.0 (+1) 26.6 (+2) Nil
Bhubaneswar 39.9 (+2) 28.4 (+2) Nil
Chandigarh 41.0 (+4) 19.8 (-2) Nil
Dehradun 36.6 (+2) 19.6 (0) 4.2
Goa 33.3 (0) 25.1 (-2) Nil
Guwahati 33.7 (+3) 23.1 (+1) Nil
Hyderabad 40.4 (+1) 27.2 (+1) Nil
Jaipur 43.4 (+4) 29.0 (+5) Nil
Lucknow 38.8 (-1) 26.5 (+3) Nil
Nagpur 43.3 (+1) 24.2 (+3) 1.0
Patna 36.0 (-4) 25.3 (0) Nil
Pune 36.6 (0) 21.5 (0) Nil
Srinagar 25.2 (+3) 11.5 (+2) 7.8
Thiruvananthapuram 33.0 (+1) 25.6 (+1) Nil