Weather department issues yellow alert as rain brings chill to Rajasthan

Jaipur, March 20 (IANS) As rain continued to lash the desert state for the last two days, the Meteorological Department on Friday issued a yellow alert in parts of the state, including Jaipur, Dholpur, Alwar and other places and warned of strong winds and lightning.

The MeT department said that a western disturbance has brought heavy rainfall to several districts in the morning, including Jaipur.

This continuous rain and hailstorms for the third consecutive day have brought back a chill reminiscent of February. Officials said that a minimum temperature of 11.1 degrees Celsius was recorded in Sirohi in the last 24 hours, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 36.4 degrees. Tonk Vanasthali, Alwar and Alwar received two cm of rainfall.

Earlier on Thursday, stormy rain and hailstorms caused daytime temperatures across Rajasthan to plummet by up to 11 degrees, with Barmer and Alwar each recording over 10 mm of rainfall. Hailstorms have also caused crop damage in Tonk and Dholpur, while dense fog in Sri Ganganagar reduced visibility to under 10 metres.

The MeT Department said that light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunder was recorded across various parts of the state.

The highest rainfall was recorded in 25 mm, which was logged in Nokha (Bikaner), while the maximum temperatures in most regions fell 2 to 8 degrees below normal.

Radheshyam Sharma, Director, Jaipur Meteorological Centre, said, "The primary impact of the Western Disturbance is expected to continue in parts of the Bharatpur and Jaipur divisions in North-Eastern Rajasthan. Weather is likely to remain predominantly dry across most other regions."

"On Saturday and Sunday, a subsequent, weaker Western Disturbance may bring light rain or drizzle with thunder to the border areas of Western Rajasthan. Most other parts of the state are expected to remain dry over the next four to five days. Then, for the next two to three days, maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2 to 3 degrees, though they will remain 2 to 4 degrees below normal levels," he added.

Meanwhile, there was intermittent drizzle which continued through Thursday night in Sikar, with dense clouds lingering over the city into Friday morning. A rain alert remains in effect for the district. Following two consecutive days of rain and hailstorms, temperatures in Sikar have turned significantly cooler.

--IANS

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