Second ‘coolest’ May day in Lucknow in 57 years

Lucknow: With cool breeze, overcast skies and drizzles forcing daytime mercury levels to drop drastically in most parts of the state, Lucknow and Agra recorded their second lowest maximum temperature in 57 years since 1969, when the records are kept by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).In fact, in the month of May, when the summer is at its peak, maximum temperatures dropped by 5-11 degrees below normal in many parts of the state, giving a feel of the month of Feb. Similar weather conditions are expected to prevail on Wednesday, said IMD officials.The maximum temperature in Lucknow was 28 degrees Celsius, 11 units below normal, and Agra recorded 29.4 degrees Celsius, 9.6 notches below normal.The Tuesday’s reading in Lucknow was second lowest after 27.8 degrees Celsius, recorded on May 29, 2021, while in Agra the `coldest’ day was on May 2, 2025, when the maximum temperature dropped to 28.8 degrees Celsius.In Lucknow, the weather remained pleasant through the day, prompting many residents to step out and enjoy the respite.IMD records show that among the 10 `coolest’ days in Lucknow in the month of May, four were in 2021. May 2021 also saw a series of thunderstorms resulting in low daytime temperatures and total 52.8 mm rainfall.In fact, records also show that in May 2021, the highest maximum temperature in Lucknow was 39.8 degrees Celsius, lowest in May in the past 10 years. In the rest of the years, maximum temperatures have been above 40 degrees Celsius.Meanwhile, daytime mercury levels also remained significantly low in many parts of the state on Wednesday.In Barabanki, the maximum temperature was 27.5 degrees Celsius, 11.1 units below normal, followed by Ayodhya 28, Kanpur 29.4 and Aligarh 29.8. Etawah, Gorakhpur and Basti recorded 30 degrees Celsius each.In contrast, the highest maximum temperature in the state was 37.6 degrees Celsius, recorded in Orai, followed by Banda 36.4 degrees Celsius. However, both were below normal.The minimum temperatures recorded in the wee hours ranged between 18-23 degrees Celsius across the state. They were also below normal.Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at IMD Lucknow, explained that a western disturbance (WD) is hovering over Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh (UP). There is also a trough line (elongated low-pressure area) passing from over UP. There is also moisture incursion into the atmosphere from the Bay of Bengal.“Under the influence of all these factors, thunderstorms and gusty winds lashed several parts of the state on Monday and Tuesday, leading to a drop in temperatures. Cloudy skies and cool breeze led to a further drop in mercury levels, particularly during the day because clouds blocked penetration of sunrays and moist winds did not allow weather to turn sultry,” he said.The weather system responsible for the change is expected to fizzle out by Friday. Thereafter, the temperatures will rise gradually for the next few days.