UP sizzles as mercury shoots up

Uttar Pradesh continued to sizzle Saturday, with temperatures at some places crossing 46 degrees Celsius.

The day temperature in cities like Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi was static at 44 degrees Celsius, while the temperature Friday touched 46 degrees Celsius in Allahabad city and neighbouring areas.

The met department said there was no hope of respite in the coming days and the mercury might climb further.

The highest temperature recorded in Allahabad was 48.3 degrees Celsius May 18, 2013.

The second highest temperature recorded in Allahabad was 47.8 degrees Celsius May 31, 2012 and the city residents seemed to be bracing up for the worst.

Frequent outages in most cities in Uttar Pradesh, with power cuts ranging from 10-12 hours per day, have added to the summer woes.

Regional Met Office at Amausi airport in Lucknow has predicted thundershowers and dust storms in some parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh in the coming week. This could lead to more power cuts as storms have snapped power lines in the past.

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation and other municipalities have been asked to put up water kiosks in different places.