At least 18 people were killed and 13 injured as lightning struck parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha on Friday, officials said.
According to the officials of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, six people were killed in Saharsa district, four in Darbhanga and one in Madhepura district. The injured have been admitted to local hospitals for treatment.
In Uttar Pradesh, five people were killed in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Jaunpur and Rae Bareli districts with isolated places in the state experiencing light to moderate and heavy rains. Lightning also killed two people in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
“The Bihar state government has ordered an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh each to the kin of those who lost their lives in the lightning strikes,” said an official.
Heavy rains lashed Shimla and its adjoining areas, even as hot weather conditions continued in Punjab and Haryana. It was a hot day in the national capital with the MeT department forecasting the possibility of a thunderstorm on Friday night and light rains on Saturday.
The meteorological office has warned of thunderstorm with gusty winds at isolated places in Himachal’s Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi and Kullu districts on Saturday and Sunday.
The key tourist resort of Kufri near Shimla was the wettest with 44 mm of rains while Chhaila and Kandaghat received 21 mm and 20 mm of precipitation. Shimla recorded 19 mm of rain in just one hour.
{{/usCountry}}The key tourist resort of Kufri near Shimla was the wettest with 44 mm of rains while Chhaila and Kandaghat received 21 mm and 20 mm of precipitation. Shimla recorded 19 mm of rain in just one hour.
{{/usCountry}}Light rains brought down day temperatures at a few places in Rajasthan, even as Churu was the hottest place in the state recording a high of 45.5 degrees Celsius. Sriganganagar, Kota, Bikaner, Pilani and Jaipur recorded maximum of 45.3 degrees Celsius, 44.2 degrees Celsius, 43.6 degrees Celsius, 43.1 degrees Celsius and 42.2 degrees Celsius respectively.
Bonli area in Sawaimadhopur district recorded 1 cm of rains since yesterday, the meteorological department said.
Hot weather conditions continued to prevail in most parts of Haryana and Punjab today, with Hisar sizzling at 45 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal.
In Haryana, Bhiwani recorded a high of 44.5 degrees Celsius, while Ambala had a hot day at 39.1 degrees Celsius, while in Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 41.3 degrees Celsius, up one notch against the normal.
On the advancement of monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has alerted residents on India’s west coast about the possibility of “extremely heavy rainfall” in parts of the region during next two to three days.