Rainfall in several parts of north India, dust storm sweeps Delhi & Rajasthan

North India experienced some relief from the sweltering heatwave after rainfall in several places, while a dust storm swept Delhi and Rajasthan. Two women died in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district after a tree fell on them on Tuesday night.

A thick haze was hanging over the national capital, affecting visibility, due to the dust storm on Wednesday evening. Thunderstorm and light rains are also expected because of a western disturbance and it is likely to bring down the temperature in Delhi, a MeT official said.

Flight operations were suspended at the Delhi International Airport due to the severe dust storm, airport officials said. They said a "total nine flights have been diverted from the Delhi airport till 7.15 pm today due to severe dust storm".

Light rainfall and the dust storm brought respite in parts of Rajasthan as the mercury came down a few notches. Jaipur received 3.2 mm rainfall and the mercury settled at 42.8 degrees Celsius. Churu, however, remained the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius, followed by 46.3 degrees each in Sri Ganganagar and Bikaner.

The weatherman has forecast another duststorm with a wind speed of 40-50 km/hr at several places in the state during the next 24 hours. In Jammu and Kashmir, heavy rains led to flash floods in parts of Baramulla district, while a storm in Bandipora district left Shareefa Begum, 33, and Mubeena Bano, 18, dead.

There was also fresh snowfall in Sonamarg and other higher reaches of Kashmir on Wednesday. Heavy overnight rains in the plains resulted in flash floods in Tangmarg and Pattan areas. There was a slight relief in Himachal Pradesh from the heatwave following rainfall at several places, the Meteorological department (Met) said.

Keylong received 21 mm rain on Tuesday evening, followed by Bhuntar 19 mm, Kalpa 18.2 mm and Kufri 17 mm. The tourist city of Manali witnessed 13 mm rains, followed by Dalhousie 12 mm and Shimla 11.9 mm. The maximum temperature decreased by 5 to 6 degrees, whereas the minimum temperature fell by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius since Monday.

However, Una continued to be the hottest place at 40.3 degrees Celsius whereas the lowest was recorded in Keylong at 5.2 degrees Celsius, Singh said. In Uttarakhand, light overnight showers caused a landslide near Narendra Nagar early on Wednesday, blocking Rishikesh-Chamba-Gangotri national highway for 15 hours and disrupting traffic along the route.

Dehradun also received light rain early on Wednesday, but there wasn't much respite from the heat. The maximum recorded in the city was 39 degree Celsius with high humidity. In Haryana and Punjab, maximum temperatures hovered above normal limits at most places, with the mercury settling at 42 degrees Celsius in Chandigarh, up by three notches.

Amritsar, Patiala and Ambala also received some rain. While Bhiwani in Haryana recorded a maximum temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius, Ludhiana in Punjab registered 43.5 degrees, up five notches.

In Uttar Pradesh, the heatwave is very likely to prevail for the next two days in some areas, the Meteorological Department said. On Wednesday, Etawah and Orai were the hottest places in the state as they sizzled at 46 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the intense heatwave virtually made Odisha a boiling cauldron, with the mercury soaring above 45 degree Celsius in six places, even as the MeT Centre here has forecast more heatwave over the next three days.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)