Evening showers bring relief after a hot, humid day

Bhopal: Rain lashed several parts of Bhopal late on Monday evening after a day of intense humidity and discomfort, bringing much-needed relief to residents as clouds gathered over the city following hot and sultry weather conditions. The state capital recorded a maximum temperature of 38.7 degrees and a minimum of 25.8 degrees, while intermittent cloud cover and pre-monsoon activity cooled down the weather during the evening hours.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), similar weather conditions are likely to continue on Tuesday, with cloudy skies expected during the afternoon and chances of light rain and thunder activity in parts of the city. The day temperature is expected to remain below 40 degrees, while the night temperature may hover around 25 degrees.

Bhopal has already received 67.7 mm of rainfall since June 1, which is 55.3 mm above normal for the period. The rainfall has helped the city achieve nearly 51% of its average June rainfall quota of 132.8 mm even before the onset of the monsoon. Weather experts attributed the changing pattern to continuous pre-monsoon activity over the past week, which led to humid afternoons followed by evening showers.

Despite relatively lower temperatures in Bhopal, Mandla remained the hottest place in the state on Monday, with a maximum temperature of 42.5 degrees.

The IMD has forecast light rainfall activity at isolated places in several southern and southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh over the next two days. Districts likely to witness rain on Tuesday include Barwani, Khargone, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Harda, Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Dindori and Anuppur. On Wednesday, the rain belt is expected to expand further towards Jhabua, Dhar and Alirajpur.

Meteorologists said the ongoing pre-monsoon activity is likely to keep temperatures under check in many parts of the state while increasing humidity levels over the coming days.