Mercury takes upward swing; Sriganganagar hottest at 40.6°C

JAIPUR: In the absence of the rains, the mercury took an upward swing across the state especially in western Rajasthan. Cloudy conditions prevailed in northern and eastern parts of the state but it did not convert into rains except at Karikala (Bhilwara) and Ramsar (Barmer) where 30 mm rainfall was recorded.
The Jaipur Met office had already said on Monday that the rain activity is receded at the moment but it is likely to be revived."But only scattered rainfall is expected as withdrawal of monsoon at some places in the state in the next couple of days," an officer with the Jaipur met office said.
On Tuesday, Jaipurites woke up to a cloudy sky which vanished by the afternoon. A sultry afternoon was witnessed and the city recorded a maximum temperature of 37.4°C accompanied by a humidity of 89%.
Officials of the Jaipur Met office said though the monsoon withdrawal is not officially declared by the Indian Meteorological department (IMD), it appears that within a week, the monsoon is likely to be over in northern India especially in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The first week of August brought plenty of rain when flood like situations were witnessed in Dholpur, Dausa, Baran and some parts of Kota. However, for the last one week, dry weather continued in the state.
The south west monsoon had entered the state on July 13 and a good spell of rain lasted for merely one month only. "Many districts including Churu, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sikar and others still need more rains, however there is no indication of any by the Jaipur Met office," the officer said.
In the absence of rain, Sriganganagar remained hottest in the state where a maximum temperature of 40.6°C was recorded. It was followed by Churu where a maximum temperature of 40.4°C was recorded; Bikaner 40°C, Jaisalmer 38.9°C, Barmer 38.5°C, Pilani 37.5°C, Jodhpur 36.6°C, Chittorgarh 35.5°C and a maximum temperature of 35.4°C was recorded in Kota.
In its forecast, the Jaipur Met office said mild to moderate showers will occur at many places in eastern and northern parts of the state in the next two days.