Rain cools mercury, death toll rises

There has been some kind of a let-up in the heat conditions in the entire country with showers in some places and the easterly winds blowing...

There has been some kind of a let-up in the heat conditions in the entire country with showers in some places and the easterly winds blowing in North India.

‘‘There was no heat wave in the country today and yesterday,’’ said S.R. Kalsi, Deputy Director General, Indian Meteorology Department. ‘‘There have been showers in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, due to which the heat has got moderated,’’ he added. With the easterly winds blowing in North India, humidity may go up in the region.

More than 400 people have died this month as the mercury level soared across peninsular India, with the highest number of deaths being reported from Andhra Pradesh.

However, the Weather office said the country had experienced the hottest May in 1998, when the temperature had reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius in Rajasthan. Although the current spell was not the hottest, in some areas temperature was higher than normal because of absence of dust-storms and thunder storms. The current spell, according to the Met Department is because of local disturbances and not larger issues like global warming. ‘‘In that case, temperatures will rise every year,’’ he said.