Lucknow: As severe hot conditions in the state intensified on Thursday, Lucknow experienced its hottest day of the season so far, and six cities from UP figured among the top 10 hotspots in the country. No relief is likely till Saturday.According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature in the city rose to 42.2 degrees Celsius, 3.1 units above normal, according to Meteorological data. The minimum temperature was 25.3 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above normal.The met officials said that the mercury levels in the city have been rising steadily over the past few days. The hot conditions will intensify in the state capital. On Friday, the sky will be clear with bright sunshine and maximum and minimum temperatures around 43 and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively, they predicted.Mercury levels touched 44.4 degrees Celsius in Prayagraj, making it the hottest city of UP and the second-hottest in the country on Thursday after Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, which recorded 44.5 degrees Celsius. This is the second occasion in the past five days when Prayagraj recorded the second-highest maximum temperature in India.Other cities in UP also witnessed extreme heat. Sultanpur recorded 43.8 degrees Celsius maximum temperature, which was fifth-highest in the country, followed by Varanasi 43.4 degrees Celsius (sixth in India), and Kanpur and Agra recorded 43.2 degrees Celsius each (eighth in the country) and Rae Bareli 43.1 degrees Celsius (ninth in India).The officials said that several factors are responsible for harsh weather, including clear skies making way for blazing sun, hot, dry westerly winds coming from the desert regions of Rajasthan and an anticyclone over central India pushing hot air from Vidarbha towards UP and preventing formation of clouds.Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at IMD, Lucknow, said some relief is expected between April 26 and April 28. “Severe heat will continue till the weekend. Thereafter, a western disturbance (WD) may bring light rain, starting from western parts of the state and moving eastward. This can lower temperatures by 2-3 degrees Celsius,” he said.Officials, however, also said that as soon as the WD fizzles out, the moisture left behind in the atmosphere would turn the weather sultry with high discomfort levels.
