City bakes above 40 degrees C; rain respite likely soon

Ludhiana: These days, the prospect of stepping out into the blazing sun makes city residents flinch. With the mercury refusing to budge from the over 40 degrees Celsius mark for the past five days, routine life has been thrown out of gear. For residents, it is difficult to accomplish the simplest of routine tasks in the intense heat. The silver lining is that the weather department has forecast possible rain over the next two days.Aided by clear skies and a blazing sun, day temperature shot up to 41 degrees Celsius on Monday. This was 2.8 degrees above normal. At 24.8 degrees Celsius, night temperature was 4.1 degrees above normal. A day before, night temperature was recorded at 25 degrees Celsius, highest in the ongoing season.With temperature soaring on Monday, the weather department has issued a yellow alert for the next two days. The forecast is "Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, strong surface winds." Day temperature is likely to fall in next few days.For residents, every day life has become a struggle. Jaspreet Kaur, a homemaker from Dugri, said that she avoids stepping out during the daytime and forbids her children from doing so too. On the brighter side, she said the household menu now includes traditional refreshing drinks like shikanji and chaach.Another resident, Varinder Kumar, a professional from Chandigarh road said he has been trying to complete most of his work before noon to avoid direct sun exposure. He said temperature becomes unbearable in the afternoon, making it difficult to stay outdoors even for a short time. When he needs to go out, he said he wears protective clothing like cap and sunglasses.Can be added as box:Box 1:Day temperature rose rapidly after April 7, shooting up to 40 degrees Celsius on April 19. Since then, it has mostly remained above 40 degrees Celsius.Mercury's Inexorable Rise Date | Day temp (In degrees Celsius) April 4 | 29.8April 5 | 31.0April 6 | 31.6 April 7 | 24.2 April 8 | 26.7April 9 | 27.8April 10 | 30.4April 11 | 30.9April 12 | 31.6April 13 | 34 April 14 | 35.6April 15 | 37April 16 | 39.6April 17 | 36.6April 18 | 39.8April 19 | 40April 20 | 39.4 April 21 | 39 April 22 | 40April 23 | 40.6April 24 | 42.4April 25 | 42.2April 26 | 42.4April 27 | 41Box 2: The forecast Date | Expected day temp (In degrees Celsius) April 28 | 41 April 29 | 39 April 30 | 39May 1 | 38