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Drizzle brings respite from heat in North
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

Chandiagrh, May 25
Drizzle accompanied by strong winds lashed the northern region bringing down the day’s temperature today. While the maximum temperature hovered around 42 °C in the region, the evening temperature fell by five degrees. The minimum temperature in the plains stayed around 28 °C.

In Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, Solan, parts of Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Mandi and Kullu witnessed showers in the evening.

In plains, strong gusts accompanied by showers were reported from Patiala and Jalandhar in Punjab and Ambala, Karnal and Hisar in Haryana. While parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Pathankot witnessed strong winds, thunderstorm was reported from Ludhiana district. Besides a minor impact on the cotton crop and mango in certain areas, the strong winds will have no significance, said agriculture experts. The stormy conditions are considered harmful for apple and wheat crops in higher hills where the crop is yet to be harvested.

The high-altitude tribal areas had another spell of moderate snowfall and Keylong, Rohtang Pass, Marhi and Koksar received 5 cm, 20 cm, 15 cm and 10 cm of snowfall, respectively. Bhandal, Bhuntar and Rohroo received 22 mm, 4.5 mm and 2 mm of rainfall, respectively.

The Rohtang Pass remained closed to vehicular traffic and local people and tourists were permitted to go only up to Marhi. The pass would be officially reopened for vehicles from June 1, official sources said.

In Bathinda, residents woke up to a hot and humid morning. The weather turned pleasant in the evening as strong winds lashed the district.

Chandigarh Meteorological Department director Surinder Pal said: “Winds at 70 km per hour were reported from different parts of the region. There is no threat of inclement weather in the coming 24 hours.” Rain and thunderstorms, however, have been predicted in some parts of Himachal Pradesh.