Rains cool down north India,

Rains brought little relief from hot conditions in northern states, which witnessed unusually high temperatures over the last fortnight, even as the mercury breached the 40-degree mark at many places in Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Banda in Uttar Pradesh was the hottest place in the country at 44.4 degrees Celsius.
The untimely showers have left farmers worrying for their standing wheat crop, but may minimise the possibility of forest fires in the hills by depositing enough moisture in the air.
Delhi, which on Thursday recorded the maximum temperature for March in the last seven years at 38.3 degrees Celsius, had a pleasant start to the day after showers overnight brought down the minimum temperature to 20.1 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature in the city settled at 34.5 degrees Celsius. The city received 24.6 mm rainfall, the highest on an April day in the last five years. Palam station recorded 14.2 mm, Ridge 0.8 and Ayanagar 76.0 mm rain, the weather office said.
Light showers in several parts of Punjab and Haryana eased hot conditions, but have triggered concerns about the standing wheat crop which is ready for harvest.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh got light rains, leading to a drop in the maximum temperature. It also drizzled at a few places in Punjab, including Mohali, Ropar, Phagwara and Jalandhar, and Panchkula, Ambala, Kalka and Yamunanagar in Haryana.

Intermittent rain lashed many parts of Uttarakhand, bringing a nip in the air and causing a sharp drop in temperature which fell by 15-16 degrees Celsius.
Most places in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts received showers in varying degrees since morning, MeT office Director Vikram Singh told PTI.
The temperatures are going to remain 8-10 degrees Celsius below normal for the next couple of days. This kind of weather is good as it minimises the possibility of forest fires by depositing enough moisture in the air, he said.
Forest fires had blighted vast tracts of land in Uttarakhand last year burning thousands of hectares.

Meanwhile, two persons were killed and 10 injured, including two police personnel, in an incident of lightning strike in Himachal Pradesh's Rampur district.
Rajasthan also witnessed fluctuating weather conditions, recording light rains at many places even as Jaisalmer sweltered at 42 degrees Celsius.
Churu had a high of 41.2 degrees Celsius, Kota 40.5, Pilani 40.2 and Jaipur 40 degrees Celsius.
Some parts of Uttar Pradesh witnessed heat wave conditions despite light rain and thundershowers at isolated place in the state.
Banda sizzled at 44.4 degrees Celsius and was the hottest place in the state and Churk with 18.8 degrees Celsius was the coolest.

Heat wave conditions prevailed in Odisha with Jharsuguda recording a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius to be the hottest place in the state.
The mercury hovered above the 40-degree mark at more than 10 places, mostly in western Odisha.
The maximum settled at 42.5 degrees Celsius in Balangir, at 42.2 in Hirakud and at 42 in Sundargarh. Titlagarh recorded a high of 41.8, Bhawanipatna 41.5, Malkangiri 41.2, Angul 40.7 and Phulbani 40 degrees Celsius.
Parts of Telangana also reeled under intense heat with Adilabad district recording a high of 41.3 degrees Celsius.
Mahabubnagar recorded a maximum of 40.5 degrees Celsius, Nizamabad 40 and Hyderabad 39 degrees Celsius.

The local Met office said no respite from heat is expected in the next few days.