Banda swelters at 49 degree Celsius, hottest in Uttar Pradesh, third in India

LUCKNOW: With the mercury touching 49 degrees Celsius-mark, Banda once again was among the hottest cities in the country on Sunday.
As the severe heat spell over north India worsened, the mercury at two weather stations in Delhi crossed 49 degrees Celsius – registering what’s likely the highest ever temperatures recorded at any India Meteorological Department station in the city, reports Kushagra Dixit.
Mungeshpur in northwest Delhi reported a scorching 49.2 degrees Celsius, nine notches above normal, while Najafgarh logged 49.1 degrees C. The readings at the two automatic weather stations, set up recently, were the highest in the country this season, beating Sunday’s high 49 degrees at Banda, UP.
The entire northeast and southwest parts of the state reeled under severe heat wave conditions, while the other regions of UP experienced intense hot and humid conditions. No relief is expected till May 21.
State met department also issued a heat wave warning on Monday in Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Sonbhadra, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Etah, Kasganj and adjoining area.
On Sunday, the maximum temperature in Banda touched 49 degrees Celsius. It was the fourth time this summer that Banda was the hottest in the state. On Saturday, the district recorded 48.8 degrees Celsius. Earlier, on April 29 and 30, Banda's maximum temperatures were 47 and 47.2 degrees Celsius respectively.
A similar situation prevailed in other parts of Bundelkhand and areas bordering Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the past 24 hours.
Agra sweltered at 47.7 degrees Celsius, while Jhansi simmered at 47.6 degrees Celsius and Prayagraj reeled under 46.9 degrees Celsius.
The observatory at BHU in Varanasi (BHU) recorded 46 degrees Celsius maximum temperature. Other districts in the state which recorded above 45 degrees Celsius maximum temperature included Mirzapur, Hampirpur, Fatehpur and Orai.
State met director JP Gupta said that dry hot winds coming from the desert region and clear skies are the main factors for the severe heat wave in the northeast and northwest parts of UP. However, he added, moisture laden easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are dominating in the rest of the state, leading to highly uncomfortable sultry conditions.
No significant relief is expected in the next few days. Thunder activity and light rain may occur at isolated places in the east UP due to excessive heat and humidity. However, there are possibilities of a cyclonic circulation developing over UP or in adjoining states due to change in wind pattern by May 21. It may cause thunderstorms in some parts of the state.