Rain, gusty winds bring relief from heat

Ranchi: Rain and hail in the state capital brought relief from the rising temperatures and heat wave like conditions on Monday. Dark clouds, which gathered over the cityscape since afternoon, forced vehicles plying on the streets to switch their headlights on.

“Along with rain, places like Doranda and Hinoo also witnessed a bit of hailstorm,” Abhishek Anand, deputy director of the Ranchi office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said. Ranchi recorded 4.6 mm rain till the evening.

Hailstorm alerts were issued for Ranchi and several other districts on Monday. The Met office on Monday said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds with speeds of up to 50 km per hour is likely in isolated parts of the state.

Overnight, light to moderate rain was observed in various parts of the state. Hailstorms were also observed at isolated places in Pakur and Khunti. Nandadihi in Giridih recorded 56 mm rain overnight.

The highest maximum temperature 38.7 degrees C was recorded at Daltonganj, while the lowest minimum temperature of 17.3 degrees C was recorded at Khunti. The maximum temperature in Ranchi was 35.5 degrees C and minimum temperature was 18.6 degrees C.