Bathinda/Chandigarh, May 19
Bathinda and adjoining areas continued to sizzle on Tuesday even as a smart shower in several places in Punjab, Chandigarh and adjoining areas provided temporary relief from the prevailing heat-wave.
It did not rain in Bathinda, which recorded a new high of 46.2 degrees Celsius today, nearly five degrees higher than normal. It was also the hottest day this summer and the highest day temperature recorded in the state. Even the day’s minimum — 26.5 degrees Celsius — was also nearly three degrees above the normal, said the Agro-MeT Advisory Services, PAU Regional Station, Bathinda.
The heat wave conditions have been prevailing in the region during the past one week as the mercury never fell below 42 degrees Celsius.
There were reports of little or no rain from various parts of Punjab, people did heave a sigh of relief from the scorching heat conditions with strong winds and a cloudy sky bringing down the temperature considerably. There was also no rain in Amritsar though it did become cloudy. There was, however, no appreciable drop in the temperature in the holy city.
Chandigarh and its neighbouring areas, however, experienced a sharp shower, which brought down temperatures. In Fatehgarh Sahib and Rajpura it rained for nearly half an hour today bringing down the temperature by six to seven degrees immediately.
Ludhiana also experienced a slight drizzle. Though Jalandhar did not experience any rain, a cloudy sky helped to bring the temperatures down. In Patiala also there was a slight drizzle, which was however scattered. The temperature however did come down from the earlier high of 42 degrees.
Meanwhile, the meteorological office at Chandigarh said night temperatures were likely to drop by three to four degrees. The weather conditions are also likely to provide a breather to the PSEB, which has already initiated unscheduled cuts with the gap between the demand and supply increasing.
(With inputs from Sarabjit Dhaliwal, S P Sharma,
Varinder Walia, Gurdeep Mann and Attar Singh)
