Cloud canopy cools city sizzling since 20 days

Lucknow: Temperatures dipped in most parts of UP, including Lucknow on Wednesday, bringing relief from weather that had been scorching the city for past 20 days, but Bundelkhand continued to reel under severe hot conditions.

Similar conditions are expected for next 2-3 days. Banda once again emerged hottest place in the country, recording 45.8 degrees Celsius, eighth time in past 15 days.In the state capital, sky was clear in the morning, but was overcast towards noon, followed by a dust/thunderstorm. A brief spell of rainfall was recorded at some places.Maximum temperature was normal at 39.3 degrees Celsius, but minimum temperature, 27.3 degrees Celsius, was 4.2 units above normal.

Intensity of the heat dropped following change in conditions, though weather turned sultry.Met officials said the city might witness partly cloudy skies with a few spells of rain/thundershowers on Thursday and Friday with maximum and minimum temperatures expected to be around 34 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.Meanwhile, districts in west UP were lashed by thunderstorms, light rain, hail and strong winds between morning and noon, resulting in drop in maximum temperatures.

Bareilly recorded maximum temperature 33 degrees Celsius, Moradabad 32.5, Muzaffarnagar 34 and Meerut 34.6.East UP experienced a hot day with late afternoon storms and drizzles bringing partial relief. High readings included Prayagraj 43.4 degrees Celsius, Orai 43.3, Kanpur 42.6, Varanasi 41.6, Sonbhadra 41.4 and Rae Bareli 40.4 degrees Celsius.India Meteorological Department attributed the change in weather conditions to incursion of moisture-laden easterly winds from Bay of Bengal into the state’s atmosphere and Western Disturbance (WD) over Pakistan and a cyclonic circulation over Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.According to senior scientist at IMD, Lucknow, Mohammad Danish, similar conditions are likely to continue over next two days. While temperatures will be at normal levels, humidity levels may rise, making weather sultry with high discomfort levels. Thereafter, temperatures are expected to rise by 3–5 degrees Celsius during the first few days of May.