Heat, lightning kills two in Karnataka

The intense heat wave prevailing in Karnataka has claimed one life while another person was fatally struck by lightning in Kalaburgi district, an official said on Saturday.

Three people were hospitalised after they were also hit by the lightning on Friday.

The Met department forecast rain for the entire state of Karnataka on Saturday.

"A mason constructing a house died due to the heat wave on Thursday whereas one person was struck by lightning on Friday. The lightning also led to hospitalisation of three more people," said Vivek Bansal, Deputy Commissioner, Kalaburgi.

The cause of the death of mason Lakappa, 60, was confirmed on Friday. The lightening victim was identified as Ningappa, 50, an official said.

"No more deaths have been reported except these two. We have issued guidelines and dos and don'ts to all the districts," said Mula Anuradha, Director, Family Health and Welfare, Karnataka.

On Friday, ten Karnataka districts received rainfall, officials said.

Heavy rain lashed Bengaluru after a hot and humid day, disrupting normal life and throwing evening rush hour traffic out of gear due to waterlogging on many roads across the city and flooding low-lying areas on Friday.

Many trees and electricity poles were uprooted and strong surface winds reported from many localities, a civic official told IANS.

Bengaluru city received 18 mm rainafall on Friday. HAL airport and Kempegowda International Airport also recorded a rainfall of 13.2 mm and 3.8 mm respectively, officials said.

The weatherman forecast a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of rain and thundershowers for Bengaluru on Saturday. Maximum temperature is likely to be around 32 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is expected to be around 22 degrees Celsius.

Maximum temperature on Friday in Bengaluru was 32.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season's average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 22.3 degrees Celsius, one notch above the season's average, officials said.

On Friday, Kalaburgi was scorching at 44.1 degrees Celsius while Bijapur and Raichur recorded 41 and 43 degrees Celsius respectively.