Monsoon hits southern coast

New Delhi, June 8
The monsoon hit the southern coasts of the country today bringing rains to Kerala and Tamilnadu and raising hopes of an immediate respite from the heatwave that has claimed as many as 1,400 lives, most of them in Andhra Pradesh, in the past three weeks.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the south-west monsoon had advanced into most parts of Kerala and parts Tamilnadu.

Rain lashed several districts of Kerala with Kozhikode recording 14 cm, Kochi 8 cm, Alleppey 7 cm and Kottayam 3 cm rain, Met department official S.K. Subramaniam said here.

The onset of south-west monsoon over Kerala and its impact on Tamil Nadu brought some respite to the state with the temperatures dropping marginally to around 41°C, the Met office in Chennai said.

Krishnagiri received 6 cm of rainfall while Perambalur, Nagarkoil and Kumbakonam recorded 5 cms each and Dharmapuri, Hosur, Vaniyambadi, Uvallur and Karikal 3 cm each. Good rainfall is also expected in Kerala and Karnataka within the next two-three days following the strengthening of Arabian branch of southwest monsoon, Mr Subramaniam said.

The monsoon south-westerlies have become stronger and have extended to higher levels, the official said.

Cool breeze eases temperatures

Chandigarh, June 8
After experiencing some blistering heat for nearly a fortnight, the people at many places in Punjab and Haryana today got relief as temperatures declined sharply.

The maximum temperatures fell by up to 10 degrees and Ambala recorded a high of 35.0°C, according to the Meteorological Department here.

Chandigarh also enjoyed a pleasant day as partially cloudy sky and cool breeze kept the mercury at 34.4°C, nine degrees lower than yesterday’s maximum.

Ludhiana and Patiala, too, enjoyed a comparatively cooler day, recording a maximums of 36.4°C and 35.4°C, both down six degrees. Amritsar had a high of 40.3°C, down one degree.

Shimla (28.3°C), Bhuntar (36.6°C) and Sundernagar (37.1°C) also saw the mercury fall by a few notches.

The weather office has attributed the current change in weather to weather systems - one an upper air cyclonic circulation over Himachal Pradesh and neighbourhood and another such circulation over northwest Rajasthan adjoining Central Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the ongoing heatwave sweeping most of the northwest region since June 2 rose to 52, while frequent power cuts and water scarcity added to the misery of residents.

The worst hit were areas in Haryana adjoining Rajasthan, where the heatwave has claimed at least 22 lives alone since Friday, taking the toll to 45. Another seven deaths were reported from Jalandhar, Bathinda, Amritsar and Ludhiana.