Central and northern parts of India reeled under severe heatwave conditions, forcing people to stay indoors. Severe dust storm and lightning in various parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh brought temporary relief but claimed at least 34 lives and left over 57 injured. The intense heat conditions are expected to continue for another week till June 15, said the weather department.
In Uttar Pradesh alone, the stormy weather conditions claimed 26 lives. A total of eight persons, including a 13-year-old child, died in Madhya Pradesh due to gusty winds, thunderstorm and lightning. Two deaths were reported from Ratlam, Damoh and Jabalpur each, while one death was reported from Dindoru and Seoni each in MP. However, the rain and windy conditions have provided temporary relief from sorching heat across the two states.
School vacations in Gwalior were extended by a week after temperatures crossed 45 degree Celcius in the state. Schools will now reopen on June 17 instead of June 10. The orders were issued by the city Division Commissioner.
Heatwave continued in parts of Rajasthan with Barmer sizzling at 46.4 degrees Celsius, Kota 46.1 degrees Celsius and Bikaner 45.8 degrees Celsius. On Friday, Hoshangabad in west Madhya Pradesh was the hottest at 46.8 degrees Celsius, while Rajasthan's Churu was close behind at 46.6 degrees Celsius.
In Punjab, Amritsar boiled at 41.4 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala recorded above-normal maximum temperatures of 41 degrees Celsius and 41.2 degrees Celsius respectively. Chandigarh witnessed a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius while Hisar in Haryana registered a high of 43 degrees Celsius.
In Delhi, the temperature dipped to 29 degree Celcius due to strong wind activity. The city recorded a high of 40.5 degrees Celsius on Friday. The mercury is expected to touch 43 degree Celcius on Saturday.
The weatherman has warned of heatwave conditions continuing in north and central India next week, and predicted "severe heatwave" in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Vidarbha in Maharashtra from Saturday till Tuesday.
The monsoon is expected to hit Kerala on Saturday and will reach the north, central and western regions of the country in seven days.
