Light rains brought some relief in parts of northern and western India on Monday, with the mercury settling below the 40-degree mark after several weeks, though heatwave conditions persisted in several states, including Bihar, where the death toll rose to 76.
Two persons, including an 18-year-old girl, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora and Ganderbal districts after being struck by lightning.
A cloudy sky and gusty winds in Delhi kept the mercury in check, with the national capital recording a maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius -- six notches below the normal.
Traces of rainfall were recorded at isolated places in the city. The weatherman predicted that similar conditions will prevail in the city for the next three-four days and the mercury will hover between 25 to 35 degrees Celsius.
Parts of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat also received light rainfall, bringing respite to residents from the searing heat.
At 23 mm, Dharamsala received the highest rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, followed by Kangra (17 mm), Bhuntar (10 mm), Janjehli (8 mm), Sundernagar (4.6 mm), Sangla (3 mm), Chamba and Kufri (2 mm each), Shimla and Fagu (1 mm each) and Kalpa (0.8 mm).
Una continued to be the hottest place in the state with a high of 39.7 degrees Celsius, whereas Keylong, the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti, recorded the lowest temperature of 5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the Shimla Meteorological Centre issued a yellow weather warning for Tuesday, forecasting a thunderstorm accompanied by a hailstorm and gusty winds in the plains, low and middle hills of the state.
Some parts of Uttar Pradesh also received light rains, while thunderstorm occurred in a few places. Karwi, Chilaghat, Mohoba and Orai recorded 1 cm of rainfall each, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
However, the day temperatures were recorded above normal in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad divisions.
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