Rain brings respite from heatwave in Punjab, Haryana
CHANDIGARH : Due to a western disturbance active over the region, light to moderate rainfall was recorded across Punjab and Haryana, leading to a significant drop in the mercury on Monday.
According to Manmohan Singh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh, director, chances of rain will continue throughout Monday and Tuesday as well. The continued heat wave in the region caused acute low pressure in the atmosphere, leading to the change in weather.
Due to thundershowers and winds that blew overnight, the temperature witnessed a fall of 4 to 6 degrees Celsius. Singh added that the maximum day temperature is expected to touch 37 degrees Celsius on Monday, 4 to 5 degrees below the average day temperature.
Gurugram records maximum rain in region
The IMD said that Gurugram recorded the highest amount of 73.4mm of rain in Haryana, while Jhajjar got 32.8 mm of rain. In neighbouring Punjab, 18mm of rain was recorded in Patiala and 17.6 mm in Pathankot.
Chandigarh, the joint state capital of Punjab and Haryana,
Orange alert in Haryana
Rain accompanied by gusty winds was reported from Rohtak, Bhiwani and Hisar. The weather office has issued an orange alert in Haryana. “The wind speeds can be around 90 km/hr. Rain is forecast in Sirsa, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Dadri, Rewari and Gurugram on Tuesday also. There are chances of hailstorm and lightning at isolated places. Wind speed between 60-90 km/hr is expected in Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kaithal, Jind, Rohtak,
Panipat, and Sonepat,” the weather officials added.
Gurugram faced prolonged power cuts and traffic jams after rain and thunderstorm on Monday morning. Commuters were stuck on roads due to waterlogging. Several trees were uprooted during the storm. The worst-affected stretches were Narsinghpur, Jharsa Crossing, Sector 29, Sector 38, Sector 50, Rajeev Chowk, Sheetla Mata Road, Civil Lines, Golf Course Extension Road, Vatika Chowk, Sector 52, and Daulatabad Flyover. At least 2,500 police personnel were deployed at major key points to manage traffic, said
Ravinder Kumar Tomar, DCP (traffic).
Gusty winds cause damage to property
In Punjab, Ludhiana recorded the lowest overnight temperature of 18°C, a 5.6°C drop compared to Sunday. It was followed by Patiala at 18.3°C and Fatehgarh Sahib and Balachar, both at 18.9°C. In Chandigarh, the minimum temperature fell to 19.1°C. The day temperature will remain on the lower side on Monday. Due to gusty winds going up to 60km/hr damage to property was reported in Chandigarh.