Lucknow: Season’s first major storm brings relief from heat and the usual woes, too
Two children die in lightning strike in Lakhimpur Kheri district, several areas of Lucknow witness waterlogging and power outages due to thunderstorm
Thunderstorm with gusty winds blowing at 60-70 km per hour and hour-long moderate rainfall of 20.6 mm lashed Lucknow on Monday, bringing relief from the heatwave but also causing waterlogging and power outages in several parts of the city.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), this is the first moderate-to-high intensity storm of the season, as March and April only recorded dry thunder spells.
Owing to rain, five flights were delayed. Two flights were diverted from Delhi to Lucknow due to inclement weather conditions in the national capital.
Elsewhere in the state, a 15-year-old boy and his nine-year-old cousin sister were killed when lightning struck them at Chandila village under the Pasgawan police limits in Lakhimpur Kheri district, the police said.
The incident took place when the children had gone to an orchard to collect raw mangoes.
A number of cities in Uttar Pradesh experienced rainfall, according to the data made available by the MET department.
Lakhimpur Kheri experienced 47.2 mm rain (the maximum on the day), Orai 34 mm, Hardoi 24mm, Bahraich 18mm, Jhansi 17.6mm, Shahajhanpur 16mm and Moradabad 11.6 mm.
The MET department has issued warnings of thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds at 30-40 kmph likely at isolated places on Tuesday. Lucknow MET director JP Gupta said the intensity, however, will be less as compared to Monday.
Rain /thundershowers are very likely at a few places over the state.
Maximum and minimum temperatures in Lucknow were recorded at 35.8 and 25.6 degrees Celsius respectively on Monday.
The state capital areas that experienced waterlogging were Alambagh, Patel Nagar, Aashiana, Aliganj and some parts of Gomti Nagar.
As several trees got uprooted due to storm, electric supply tripped in many areas like Maqboolganj, Lalbagh, Aashiana, Khurshedbagh and Aminabad among others
Commuters said a number of roads were blocked with trees falling and traffic was choked in some parts of the state capital
On social media, people welcomed the change in weather after a spell of heatwave.
The IMD classifies rainfall as ‘light’ when it is between 2.5 and 15.5 mm, ‘moderate’ when it is between 15.6 mm and 64.4 mm, and ‘heavy’ when it exceeds 64.5 mm in a single day.
MET officials said that isolated spells of very light rain may occur in the second half of the day as well, with the maximum temperature expected to be around 33 degrees Celsius
YOGI ASKS DMs TO DISTRIBUTE AID
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the district magistrates of the districts affected by thunderstorm, rain and lightning to immediately distribute relief to the affected persons/families as per the prescribed norms. He said that any laxity in providing relief and help would not be tolerated.
While giving instructions to ensure proper medical arrangements for the injured persons, he said that the government should be informed immediately about the need for additional funds for providing assistance. He also instructed to make available detailed reports regarding the loss of life, animal loss and crop damage.He told all the district magistrates to conduct an extensive tour in their districts and take stock of the damage. He has directed the divisional commissioners to monitor the relief work.