Heavy rains and strong winds in north and east India bring a respite from the heat

Heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds lashed parts of northern and eastern India, including the national capital, on Saturday, bringing relief from the scorching heat but also claiming lives and causing flooding and uprooting trees.

A 52-year-old man was killed on Saturday when a tree fell on him during a thunderstorm in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda. In Rajasthan, 13 rain and storm-related deaths were reported in the past two days, while at least 12 people died due to lightning strikes in Jharkhand during the same period, authorities said.

Delhi was battered by rain and gusty winds in the morning, keeping temperatures significantly lower than average for this time of summer, as the national capital enjoyed a period of relief from storm surge conditions. heat.

However, uprooted trees and waterlogging caused traffic jams in various parts of the city, including the Vasant Vihar-Delhi Airport section of road, Kanshiram Takkar Marg and the Mahipalpur Expressway underpass.

Power supply in some areas was also disrupted as power lines and poles were damaged, authorities said.

The weather department has forecast more rain and thunderstorms for Sunday.

Delhi was recovering from heat wave conditions, with the mercury crossing the 45 degree Celsius mark in many places, but intermittent showers have brought relief since May 24.

After the rain lashed Delhi, Department of Public Works Minister Atishi asked officials to submit a report on the areas affected by waterlogging and the measures taken to address the problem.

The minister gave the instructions after visiting the centralized monsoon control room to check the flood situation in the city, authorities said.

Engineers in the affected areas were contacted to assess the immediate status of the waterlogging complaints, they said.

In neighboring Gurugram, two hours of rain and thunderstorms caused flooding in more than 25 places, authorities said.

Heavy rains occurred in isolated spots in eastern Rajasthan, while thunderstorms along with gusty winds and light to moderate rainfall have been reported in isolated spots in the state in the past 24 hours. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that damage caused by storms and rain is being assessed in many districts of the state and announced that Rs 5 lakhs will be given to the relatives of the deceased. Various parts of Haryana were also hit by downpours which caused temperatures to drop.

According to the Met department report, among the places in the state to be hit by overnight rains are Hisar, Karnal, Narnaul, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Kurukshetra and Rewari.

The department said Bathinda and Faridkot in Punjab also received rain.

In Jammu and Kashmir, tourists enjoyed the pleasant weather as the Valley witnessed rain showers in recent days, causing a drop in the mercury.

The maximum temperature in the Valley has been around 20 degrees Celsius while rain was recorded in some places.

The pleasant weather has cheered up the tourists.