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

North India experienced some relief from the sweltering heatwave after rainfall in several places, while storms swept Delhi, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, killing one person and leaving five injured. A duststorm coupled with light rain brought mercury down in the national capital on Wednesday evening.

A 15-year-old boy was injured after a wall of his house collapsed due to duststorm in northeast Delhi's Usmanpur. The boy, Sagar, has been shifted to GTB hospital where he is being treated. The maximum temperature at Safdarjung observatory was 41.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average. However, the mercury fell sharply to 29.8 degrees Celsius at 7.30 pm after the thunderstorm hit the city.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average. The weatherman has forecast partly cloudy sky and possibility of very light rain for Thursday. Flight operations were suspended for around 35 minutes at the Delhi International Airport due to the severe duststorm, airport officials said. The officials said total 27 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport till 7.50 pm. Light rainfall and the duststorm also 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 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 high-speed winds and a hailstorm created havoc in Jammu region and also Kashmir valley in the early hours of Wednesday, resulting in death of a man and injuries to four people. Yousef, 27, a resident of Rajouri, was killed, while Haider and Lateef were injured when a tree fell on their doke (grass hut). In Upper reaches of Mahore, two people sustained minor injuries. In Poonch, Rajouri and Kathua districts, nine houses suffered damage.

On Tuesday night, 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 five to six degrees, whereas the minimum temperature fell by one to two 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 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 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.)