New Delhi: Heatwave continued to sweep several parts of the country with both Churu and Sriganganagar in Rajasthan scorching at 49.2 degrees Celsius even as some regions of eastern states of Bihar and Odisha received rainfall as cyclone Roanu made a landfall in Bangladesh.
Two persons were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district as strong winds and thundershowers hit several parts of the state. While one died in a tree fall incident, the other was hit by lightning, police said. Churu and Sriganganagar sizzled at 49.2 degrees Celsius followed by Kota where the mercury shot up to 47.3 degrees Celsius.
Mercury in Rajasthan's Phalodi which had touched the 50 degrees Celsius mark for the last three days, on Saturday received a slight respite as it dipped to 46 degrees Celsius. Bikaner and Jaisalmer recorded the maximum temperature of 46.7 and 44.7 degrees Celsius respectively.
Parts of northern states of Haryana and Punjab also reeled under intense heatwave conditions with Hisar scorching at 47.8 degrees Celsius. In Odisha, Bhawanipatna was hottest at 44 degrees Celsius followed by Titlagarh at 43.5 degrees Celsius, a MeT official said.
Six places in the state registered temperature in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack were relatively pleasant at 35.7 and 35.2 degrees Celsius. In India, the effect of the cyclone was felt in parts of Bihar, Odisha and few areas of Bengal. Paradip received heavy rainfall due to the cyclonic influence, of about 163.9 mm while Puri and parts of Bhubaneswar got 80.8 mm and 32.4 mm of rain.
Rains brought much needed respite on Saturday from sultry weather conditions for Patnaites who had been reeling under hot and humid conditions. A total of 9.8 mm of rains were recorded in Patna while its day's temperature was recorded at 29.7 degrees Celsius which is eight degrees below normal.
Parts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas may receive slight rainfall later on Saturday night or Sunday due to the cyclone, the weatherman said.
In Delhi, intense heatwave conditions continued unabated, making life tough for people who also bore the additional brunt of long power outages in some areas. The maximum temperature was recorded at 41.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department said, heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are very likely at a few places in Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha. Heatwave conditions are very likely at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat region and east Madhya Pradesh.