IMD forecasts rain, thunder amid 27 per cent monsoon deficit in UP

Lucknow, Jul 16 (PTI) The IMD on Thursday forecast rain or thundershowers at a few places in Uttar Pradesh, while warning of heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, at isolated places in the eastern part of the state. For Lucknow and adjoining areas, the weather office has predicted a partly cloudy sky, with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers over the next 24 hours, beginning Thursday evening. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 33 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively, while thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are also likely at isolated places. Rainfall activity remained subdued across the the state on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh recorded 1.7 mm of rainfall against the normal 9.4 mm, registering a deficit of 82 per cent. East Uttar Pradesh received 77 per cent below-normal rainfall during the day, while the western part recorded a steeper deficit of 92 per cent. The state has also recorded a 27 per cent deficit in cumulative southwest monsoon rainfall so far this season, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Data released by the weather office showed that Uttar Pradesh received 167.2 mm of cumulative rainfall between June 1 and July 16 against the normal 229.4 mm. East Uttar Pradesh recorded only 150.4 mm of rainfall during the season against the normal 254 mm, a deficit of 41 per cent. In the west, 191.2 mm of rainfall was logged against the normal 195.1 mm, a deficit of just two per cent. Among the districts, Meerut recorded the highest surplus in seasonal rainfall at 147 per cent above normal, followed by Muzaffarnagar (141 per cent), Sambhal (84 per cent) and Etah (74 per cent). In contrast, Bhadohi reported an 89 per cent seasonal deficit, while Pilibhit (-85 per cent), Kaushambi (-83 per cent), Kanpur Dehat (-78 per cent) and Jaunpur (-76 per cent) were among the worst-affected districts. Lucknow received 108.1 mm of cumulative rainfall against the normal 201.9 mm, a deficit of 46 per cent, although the city received 7.2 mm rainfall on Thursday, marginally above the normal of 7.1 mm for the day. Meanwhile, temperatures remained close to normal in most parts of the state. Lucknow recorded a maximum temperature of 33.6 degrees Celsius, 0.3 notches below normal, and a minimum of 26.2 degrees Celsius, 0.1 notch above normal on Thursday. Banda was the hottest place in the state at 39.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Fatehpur (38.6 degrees Celsius), Jhansi (38.4 degrees Celsius) and Orai (37.8 degrees Celsius). PTI CDN PRK