Rains bring relief amid Raj heatwave

Jaipur: Intense heatwave conditions scorching Rajasthan over the past several days finally broke Friday, as dust storms, cloud cover and rain swept several parts of the state, lowering temperatures and bringing significant relief from the blistering heat.Fresh western disturbances brought mild to moderate showers at many places across the Jaipur, Bharatpur, Ajmer and Bikaner divisions, with the resulting drop in temperatures providing some respite to a state reeling under intense heatwave conditions for the past week.Western Rajasthan, however, remained largely untouched by the milder climes that graced the rest of the state Friday, with Jaisalmer recording the state’s highest maximum temperature of 45.6°C.In Jaipur, people woke up to a slightly cooler morning Friday as the city recorded a minimum temperature of 28.6°C. Things heated up by afternoon, however, with the mercury shooting up to 41°C.By evening, a dense cloud cover engulfed the capital city as gusty winds reduced visibility and created traffic chaos in several areas. That was followed later in the evening by a bout of moderate showers and hail that brought the temperature down further.Despite the relief in eastern Rajasthan, western districts continued to sizzle. Phalodi recorded the state’s second-highest temperature of 44.8°C, followed by Bikaner at 44°C, Barmer and Sri Ganganagar at 43.7°C each, and Churu at 42.7°C. The maximum temperature in Udaipur was 38°C.Rainfall was reported from several parts of the state over the last 24 hours, with Jhunjhunu receiving 24.5 mm of rainfall and places like Pilani, Churu and Sri Ganganagar seeing some pre-monsoon precipitation.The Met office said prevailing western disturbance and local atmospheric systems are likely to continue influencing Rajasthan’s weather over the next few days, bringing intermittent thunderstorms, dust storms and rain, especially in eastern parts of the state.GfxBrief RespiteHigh-velocity winds reaching 40 to 50 kmph were reported at several places in Jaipur, Ajmer, Bharatpur and Bikaner divisionsA day after recording the hottest day of the season at 45.4°C, Jaipur witnessed evening showers that brought the mercury downThe Met department says mild rainfall is likely to continue over several parts of the state in the coming daysWeather conditions are expected to remain pleasant across most parts of the state, except western Rajasthan, till June 3