A yellow alert for thunderstorm and lightning accompanied by gusty winds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour at isolated places has been sounded for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on Friday and Saturday — even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of a gradual rise in maximum temperature by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius over the next five days with no large change thereafter.
The IMD’s Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, in its evening media bulletin on Tuesday, warned that the same thunderstorm-lightning-gusty wind combination would also hit isolated pockets of Punjab and Haryana on the same two days.
Tuesday turned out dry across Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 35.3 degrees Celsius — 1.2 degrees above normal and 1.4 degrees higher than Monday. The minimum temperature in the city was 15.4 degrees Celsius, which was 3.8 degrees below normal. Relative humidity ranged between 78 per cent in the morning and 56 per cent by afternoon.
Mohali stood out in Punjab’s temperature data for an unusual reason — it recorded the highest minimum temperature in the state at 19.8 degrees Celsius, making it the warmest night across Punjab. Patiala topped the day’s heat in Punjab with a maximum of 37.2 degrees Celsius. The coldest night in Punjab was recorded at Hoshiarpur at 14.7 degrees Celsius.
Across the border in Haryana, Bopani in Faridabad sizzled at 39.4 degrees Celsius — the highest maximum temperature in the state. Karnal recorded the lowest minimum in Haryana at 15.6 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula will climb steadily through the week. Wednesday will see mainly clear skies with a maximum of 36 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 17 degrees. Thursday and Friday will turn partly cloudy with the maximum temperature at 37 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 18 degrees. The yellow-alert days of Friday and Saturday carry the thunderstorm-lightning-gusty wind warning. By Saturday and Sunday, the maximum will have climbed to 38 degrees Celsius, and the minimum to 19 and 20 degrees respectively, before skies turn mainly clear again.
IMD has forecast a gradual rise of 4 to 5 degrees Celsius in maximum temperature over the next five days, with no large change in temperatures expected thereafter.
On a seasonal note, Chandigarh has recorded 73.4 mm of rainfall since March 1 — a departure of 178 per cent above the seasonal normal — reflecting the unseasonal rains that battered the Tricity in recent weeks.
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