The billowing clouds over the city gave further respite to people from the scorching summer as the maximum temperature fell to 38.4 degree Celsius on Monday. The minimum temperature was recorded at 29.7 degree Celsius.
Taking cue from the cloudy weather, citizens came out in large numbers in the evening, particularly at popular hangouts like Necklace Road and parks. The cool wind that graced the city also gave a break to citizens from the unrelenting heat wave that prevailed in the last few weeks.
The cloud build-up was due to a low pressure system in the North Bay area, Met officials said. The condition will remain similar on Tuesday, with temperature hovering around a maximum of 38 degree Celsius and a minimum of 30 degree Celsius. Certain parts of the city could experience rain or thunder showers, and the sky will be partly cloudy on Tuesday, the officials added.
Low pressure forms
Special Correspondent writes: Widespread rains caused by a low pressure area that lay formed over North Bay of Bengal, brought down temperatures suddenly in the State, providing big relief to the people reeling under the heat wave.
The low pressure may intensify into a depression, leading to further rains in the State, and thus advance the advent of the South-West monsoon. All this may bring the summer to a close much earlier than expected. Chintapalli, Dhone recorded heavy rainfall of 7 cm each; Aluru, Kuppam, Prattipadu, Rayachoti 4 cm each; Pattikonda, Kamalapur, Arogyavaram, Palakonda, Sattenapalli, Tuni, Yellandu 2 cm each; and Yellamanchili, Muddanur, Owk, Rayadurg, Badwel, Proddatur, Bapatla and Peddapuram one cm each.
The refreshing outcome was that the mercury levels dropped by three to four degrees at a number of hot- spots like Tuni (33.3 degrees C), Visakhapatnam (38 C), Rentachintala (39.8 c), Nandigama (31 C), (Bapatla 32 C) and Gannavaram (33 C). In Hyderabad, the temperature for the day fell to 38,4 C ,which reported high temperartures till Sunday.
The Disaster Management, all of sudden, were tight-lipped over the number of sunstroke deaths on Monday after establishing transparency in this matter by providing details till Sunday. Sources told this correspondent that it was done at the instance of the Minister concerned.
Prakasam district topped the toll accounting for 186 deaths followed by Guntur (147) and Nalgonda (132). Prakasam district reported 71 deaths on a single day on Sunday.
Death toll put at 1,000
The overall figure, now put at 1,000, was likely go up further as reports about the sunstroke casualties were still being received by the Commissioner, Disaster Relief, T. Radha.
Weathermen were optimistic about early onset of the monsoon as one of its arms has already advanced into the South-West and East Central Bay of Bengal and the other arm into Southeast Arabian Sea.
