Pre-monsoon rains provided some respite from the blistering heat wave in several parts of India including in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha, where more than 2,200 people died in last two weeks.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday evening said that conditions were becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala around June 5.Rains and thundershowers brought down temperatures in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.However, the heat wave conditions continued in Telangana with almost all towns recording maximum temperature of over 40 degrees.Showers and thunderstorms lashed parts of Andhra Pradesh. Several parts of Rayalaseema and few areas in coastal Andhra Pradesh received rains.According to Hyderabad Meteorological Centre, heat wave conditions prevailed in Guntur district in south coastal Andhra. Jangamaheshwarapuram in Guntur district recorded the maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.
In Telangana, the maximum temperature was recorded in Adilabad and Nizamabad - 46 degrees Celsius. Hanamkonda was next hottest at 45 degrees. The temperature in Nalgonda and Ramagundam was 44 and was 43 in Hyderabad, Mahabubnagar and Medak.The heat wave claimed 2,219 lives in the two states during last two weeks. Andhra Pradesh accounted for 1,677 deaths while 542 people died of sunstroke in Telangana. Temperatures across Odisha went down on Monday with many places recording below 40 degrees Celsius, even as the state government confirmed the death of 26 people due to sunstroke.IMD office said state capital Bhubaneswar recorded the highest temperature of 40.7 degrees, followed by Malkangiri at 40 degrees.IMD Bhubaneswar director Sarat Chandra Sahu said temperatures will come down in the coming days which would give the much needed respite to people.
The special relief commissioner in a statement confirmed that 26 people have died of sunstroke. He said they have also received reports of 131 more deaths but they were yet to be confirmed.The highest number of deaths were reported from Ganjam (7) and Kendrapada (5). Up north, rains in Himachal Pradesh on Monday brought down the maximum temperature three to four notches, bringing much relief from the scorching heat, said a Met department official, forecasting more showers in the coming days."One or two spells of rain or thundershowers are likely on Tuesday. Maximum temperature will fall even further," the official told IANS in Shimla.Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 24 degrees Celsius as against Sunday's high of 26.1 degrees Celsius. It also received 2.5 mm of rainfall.Respite is in sight for several West Bengal districts, reeling under the heat wave, with rainfall expected in the next 48 hours, the Met office said on Monday.Light to moderate rainfall coupled with thundershowers is expected in districts in Gangetic plains such as Bibhum, Bankura, Burdwan, Purulia as well as east and west Midnapore, a Met official said.
The relatively cooler sub-Himalayan districts such as Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Darjeeling and Alipurduar will also get some respite in the next two days, the official said.State capital Kolkata continued to sizzle with the double whammy of heat and humidity."The maximum temperature was around 36 degree Celsius while the minimum was at 29 degree Celsius. Maximum humidity levels hovered at 80 percent but dipped to 49 percent during the day," said a weather official.Over a dozen people have succumbed to the intense heat wave sweeping across the state during the past couple of weeks. Meanwhile, IMD on Monday evening said that conditions were becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala around June 5.The weather department said during the last 24 hours, the wind has become stronger and there has been an increase in rainfall over the Lakshadweep area and southern parts of peninsular India."Persistence of convection indicates that conditions are becoming favourable for the onset of south west monsoon over Kerala around June 5," the IMD said in its evening update.
On Monday, most parts of Kerala received rain and the temperature also came down, compared to the previous days.The IMD had earlier forecast that the south-west monsoon was likely to set over Kerala on May 30, with a model error of plus or minus four days.Speaking to IANS, IMD director here K.Santhosh said the announcement about monsoon arrival would be made from New Delhi."To declare that the monsoon has arrived in Kerala, the data recorded at the 14 weather stations located at Lakshadweep, Kerala and in Mangalore are being closely monitored," said Santhosh.