Mercury Rises in Parts of North India as Southwest Monsoon Advances Further

Temperatures in several places in north India, including Delhi, increased by a few notches on Tuesday, even as the southwest monsoon further advanced into more parts of west central and north Bay of Bengal.

The mercury in the national capital was above the 40 degrees Celsius-mark. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a maximum of 40.6 degrees Celsius. On Monday, it recorded a high of 37.6 degrees Celsius.

The weather stations at Palam and Lodhi Road recorded their respective maximum temperatures at 42 and 39.9 degrees Celsius.

Humidity levels oscillated between 38 and 86 per cent in Delhi.The maximum temperatures in Haryana and Punjab rose by a few notches but the mercury settled near or below the normal limits at most places. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a high of 37.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, according to the Meteorological (MeT) department here.

In Haryana, Ambala's maximum settled at 39.3 degrees Celsius, which was within the normal limits, while Karnal recorded a high of 37.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

Hisar had a hot day at 42 degrees Celsius but it was within the normal limits.

Narnaul, which received light rainfall during the day, registered a high of 33.5 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal.

Ludhiana in Punjab registered a maximum of 38.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, while Patiala recorded a high of 38.7 degrees Celsius, also a notch below normal limits.

Amritsar recorded a maximum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal limits.

The mercury continued to remain above the 40 degrees Celsius-mark in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, the MeT office said.

Jhansi registered the highest temperature in the state with 42.5 degrees Celsius, it said.

The maximum temperature in Lucknow was 39.9 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 27.4 degrees, the department said

The mercury rose to 42 degrees Celsius in Allahabad, followed by 41.6 degrees in Agra, 41.5 degrees in Kanpur and 41.2 degrees Hamirpur.

Aligarh registered a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, while it was 40.3 degrees in Fursatganj and 40.1 degrees in Varanasi. Orai in Jalaun district and Sultanpur recorded a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius.

The weather will most likely remain dry over the state, it added. Several places in Rajasthan witnessed a rise in maximum temperature on Tuesday, and Sriganganagar turned out to be the hottest place in the state recording 43.3 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said.

Bikaner recorded 43.2 degree Celsius, followed by Churu (43), Jaisalmer (42.8), Barmer (41.7), Kota (41.3), Jaipur (41), and Jodhpur (40.7).

Ajmer recorded a high of 39.6 degrees Celsius. Dabok received 0.55 mm rainfall on Tuesday and recorded a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius.

The MeT department has forecast thunderstorm/ lightning accompanied with gusty winds (with 30-40 kmph speed) to occur at isolated places in east Rajasthan.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its All-India Weather Forecast Bulletin said conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into more parts of the country.

It said that "southwest monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of west central and north Bay of Bengal, today".

"Conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, some more parts of Karnataka and Rayalaseema, remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Telangana and coastal Andhra Pradesh..." during the next 48 hours, it said.

The IMD also said conditions are likely to become favourable subsequently for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana remaining parts of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh, remaining parts of Bay of Bengal and northeastern states during the subsequent 48 hours.