Rains pounds parts of north India, temp in Churu reaches about 50 deg C

Rains lashed several parts of north India today even as Delhi and Rajasthan reeled under sweltering heat with the temperature in Churu touching nearly 50 degrees Celsius.

In Delhi, the mercury settled at 42 degree Celsius, one notch above the season's average, and the minimum recorded was 30 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.

According to Met department, humidity oscillated between 39 per cent and 72 per cent in the national capital.

In Rajasthan, Churu recorded a high of 49.7 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above normal, while the maximum temperature in Sriganganagar touched 49.1 degrees Celsius, seven notched above normal.

Binaker touched 49.7 degrees Celsius followed by 46.7 degrees in Jaiselmer and 46.1 degrees in Pilani. The roads in Jaipur wore a deserted look as the maximum temperature registered a rise of four degree Celsius compared to yesterday.

Several areas of Himachal Pradesh were pounded by storms which uprooted trees and disrupted the power supply in Shimla town and adjoining areas.

The day temeprature dropped by a few notches due to strong winds and rain. The rainfall also helped douse the fires in Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and other areas.

Baijnath was wettest in the region with 48 mm rains, followed by Pandoh 31 mm, Gohar 30 mm and Mandi 24 mm.

Una was hottest in the state with maximum temperature touching 40 degrees, a drop of 2.5 degrees, while Nahan, Bhuntar and Sundernagar recorded a high of35.5 degrees, 35.2 degrees and 34.9 degrees.

In Uttar Pradesh, light to moderate rain and thunderstorm occurred at isolated places.

According to the MeT department, day temperatures were below normal in Faizabad, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Moradabad.

The highest maximum temperature in the state was 44.3 degrees Celsius recorded at Fatehgarh.

Hot weather conditions continued to prevail in Punjab and Haryana with Narnaul recording a high of 46.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal.

UT Chandigarh, joint capital of both states, recorded a maximum temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius.

Among other places in Haryana, Hisar recorded a maximum temperature of 46 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, and Bhiwani touched 45.1 degrees.

In Punjab, Amritsar and Ludhiana recorded maximum temperatures at 42.3 and 41.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.