A heat wave prevailed in the Uttar Pradesh capital and many other districts of the state on Saturday even as the regional meteorological center Lucknow issued an orange heat wave warning in 11 districts.
Rains are expected to begin in Uttar Pradesh on June 30. (For representation)
These districts include Pratapgarh, Gondu, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Barabanki, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya and surrounding areas.
In the state capital, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 41.9 and 29.5 degrees Celsius, respectively. However, the maximum temperature was 45 degrees, the official said. Relative humidity was high at 70%. The sky turned cloudy in Lucknow on Saturday evening with light rain falling in parts of the state capital.
However, the heat wave is likely to continue across the state until June 30. Conditions are favorable for the southwest monsoon to enter Uttar Pradesh over the next 3-4 days and move in quickly thereafter.
The fresh spell of monsoon is expected to begin on June 30, followed by a gradual increase in rainfall, increasing the likelihood of heavy rainfall across the state in early July, the meteorological department said.
Apart from Lucknow, heat also prevailed in Hardoi, Kanpur, Banda, Bahraich, Ballia, Sultanpur, Sonbhadra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Jhansi, Bijnor, Moradabad, Fatehpur and Farrukhabad. Meanwhile, Lakhimpur Kheri, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Ghazipur experienced intense heat.
Prayagraj and Agra sweated at 43.2 degrees Celsius, Kanpur IAF, Banda, Fatehgarh and Fatehpur 42.6, Varanasi (BHU) 42.5 degrees Celsius.
Lucknow is expected to see mostly clear skies on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 42 and 30 degrees Celsius respectively. Abnormal heat is very likely during the daytime.
The weather is likely to be dry in western UP while rain/thunderstorm is highly likely at isolated places in eastern UP. A heat wave is highly likely in isolated places in both western and eastern UP. In isolated places in eastern UP, thunderstorms/lightning accompanied by gusty winds (40-50 km/h) are highly likely.
A yellow alert indicating the possibility of heat wave has been issued for 50 districts including Lucknow, Unnao, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur City, Rae Bareli, Ambedkar Nagar, Bandha, Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Ballia, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Rampur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi, Lalitpur and surrounding areas.
The following districts: Prayagraj, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Ghazipur, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Balrampur, Shravasti have been issued a yellow alert with high probability of gusty winds accompanied by thunderstorms/lightning. and surrounding areas.