After overnight rain relief, city sweats under sultry sun

Bhopal: A day after welcome showers, accompanied by gusty winds, brought a measure of relief from the punishing heatwave, dragging the mercury back to the 40-degree mark from the early forties, the city woke up to clear skies and a sultry summer sun on Friday.While the maximum temperature in the city dropped below 40 degrees, settling at 39.8°C, the relative humidity shot up to 58%, giving residents a harsh reality check after a relatively cool night.In another piece of news that is set to dull spirits in the city, the regional meteorological office said the brief respite for the city and elsewhere could already have come and gone, as the day temperatures could go up again as the effect of the system that brought wet weather to the northern plains as well as central India wanes.In another grim forecast, the Met said while the day temperatures in May, typically the hottest month in MP, were likely to remain close to normal in the first three weeks of May, it would trend in the above-normal range in the last week.The overall day temperature this month is likely to be 41 degrees or marginally above, while the night temperature will be at 26 degrees.Meanwhile, the day temperature in the city on Friday was recorded at a degree less than normal, while the minimum temperature settled at22.2°C, three degrees below normal.Raisen logged at the highest temperature of the day, at 43.2°C.The Met forecast mainly clear skies on Saturday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be at 42 and 26 degrees, while the average wind speed will be 16 kmph.A warning for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds was issued for Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa and Mauganj districts, while an alert for thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds was put out for Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Anuppur, Umaria, Dindori, Katni, Jabalpur, Seoni, Balaghat, Panna, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Morena, Sheopur, Satna, Shahdol, Maihar and Mandla districts.The Met also forecast rain or drizzle, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning for Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Morena, Sheopur, Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa, Mauganj, Satna, Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria, Dindori, Katni, Jabalpur, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari and Maihar districts.The Met ruled out any significant shift in weather pattern in the state over the next two days.