CHANDIGARH: Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms lashed several parts of Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana on Saturday morning, thus providing some relief from sudden heat.
In Muktsar, rain and hailstorm on Friday late night wreaked havoc as it flattened the wheat crop in most parts of the district.
Also, farmers are a harried lot as rainfall and high-velocity winds caused lodging in wheat crops in Ludhiana district.
Last week, the weather department had extended its forecast of rain in some areas of Punjab till March 29.
A western disturbance as a trough is prevailing in the middle tropospheric westerlies over central Pakistan, which has been attributed as the cause for rain and snow along with gusty winds over some areas of north-west India earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Delhi on Saturday registered a minimum temperature of 21.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The humidity levels were recorded at 64 per cent at 8:30 am.
The weatherman has forecast a thunderstorm with rain during the day. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 37 degrees Celsius, it said.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the “moderate” category with a reading of 181 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).