Another orange alert fizzles, rain relief continues; yellow alert till Sunday
Chandigarh gets 36.4 mm, Mohali 21 mm rainfall as mercury plunges further; IMD says intermittent showers likely to keep heatwave away through next week
A day after a powerful evening thunderstorm triggered widespread disruptions across Tricity, Friday’s orange alert failed to produce any major weather event till the filing of this report, with only a brief spell of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty high-velocity winds lashing Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula around 1 pm.
Despite the relatively subdued weather activity during the day, the impact of Thursday night’s storm and subsequent rain was clearly visible in the form of significantly cooler temperatures and a complete retreat of the scorching heatwave conditions that had gripped the region over the past week.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh recorded 36.4 mm rainfall since Thursday morning, including 21.7 mm during the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Friday and another 4.4 mm till 5.30 pm, while Mohali received 21 mm rainfall during the corresponding period.
The IMD’s latest bulletin noted that light to moderate rain occurred at most places across Punjab and Haryana during the past 24 hours, while heavy rain was reported at isolated locations in Punjab. Thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and hailstorm activity were also recorded at a few places across both states.
The rain brought substantial relief from the intense June heat. Chandigarh’s maximum temperature fell further to 33.5°C, another 2.5-degree drop from Thursday and 5.1 degrees below normal. The minimum temperature plunged to 19.9°C, marking a sharp 6.4-degree fall overnight and remaining 6.4 degrees below normal.
Mohali recorded a maximum temperature of 32.9°C and a minimum of 21°C, both significantly lower than normal for this time of the year. Across Punjab, the average maximum temperature dropped by 5.2 degrees Celsius, remaining 6.3 degrees below normal, while the average minimum temperature fell by 5 degrees Celsius and stayed 4.4 degrees below normal. Haryana also witnessed a substantial cooling trend, with average maximum and minimum temperatures declining by 4.1 degrees and 4.2 degrees, respectively.
With the active weather system gradually weakening, the IMD has downgraded the weather warning from orange to yellow alert from Saturday onwards. Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph are likely at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on Saturday and Sunday, accompanied by scattered rainfall activity.
From Monday onwards, no formal weather warning has been issued. However, isolated rain and thunderstorm activity is expected to continue over parts of the region through the middle of next week. The forecast for the Tricity indicates partly cloudy skies with thunderstorms and rain on Saturday, followed by mainly clear skies from Monday onward, with temperatures gradually rising but remaining below the extreme levels witnessed earlier this week.
A senior IMD meteorologist said the ongoing weather activity was being driven by the interaction of moist easterly winds and a western disturbance-induced circulation over northwest India.
“The widespread rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds witnessed over the last 48 hours are the result of strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal interacting with favourable upper-air systems over northwest India. The weather activity is now gradually weakening, which is why warnings have been downgraded. However, intermittent showers and thunderstorm activity are likely to continue over the coming days and should be sufficient to prevent any immediate revival of heatwave conditions across Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana,” the meteorologist said.
The sharp cooling has already transformed the weather landscape across the region. Just 48 hours ago, several areas in Punjab and Haryana were reeling under heatwave conditions with temperatures crossing 44°C. Following consecutive rounds of rain and thunderstorms, maximum temperatures across both states are now running 5-6 degrees below normal, offering residents a rare spell of pleasant June weather and a much-needed respite from the season’s first intense heatwave.
