Fresh western disturbance to extend relief from heat till Sunday, dust storms likely to continue

Jaipur: A fresh western disturbance is set to keep heatwave conditions at bay across Rajasthan till Sunday, with the Met Office forecasting light to moderate rain, thunderstorms and dust storms in several parts of the state over the next few days. The return of intense summer heat is now expected only from Monday next week as the weather system weakens.Relief from the scorching summer continued Tuesday as temperatures remained below normal in most districts due to cloud cover, thunderstorms and scattered rainfall.According to the Met Office, Jaipur, the fresh western disturbance will become active over northwest India from Wednesday, triggering another round of weather activity across Rajasthan. Under its influence, parts of the Bikaner, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Bharatpur and Jaipur divisions are likely to witness thunderstorms, gusty winds, dust storms and intermittent rainfall. Officials said the prevailing weather pattern will prevent any immediate resurgence of severe heatwave conditions.Despite the cooler spell, Phalodi remained the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius. It was followed by Sriganganagar at 41.40°C, Bikaner at 41.2°C, Jaisalmer at 40.5°C and Chittorgarh at 39.8°C. Churu recorded 39°C, while Pilani and Barmer registered 38.5°C and 38.3°C, respectively.In Jaipur, the maximum temperature settled at 35.6°C, 5.4°C below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 24.2°C, 3.5°C below normal. The city is likely to witness partly cloudy skies with the possibility of light rain or thundershowers Wednesday.Rainfall and dust storms were reported from several places in the Udaipur and Jodhpur divisions. Chittorgarh recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 61 mm, followed by Pratapgarh at 35.5 mm, Barmer at 26.4 mm, Banasthali at 20 mm and Udaipur-Dabok at 16.3 mm. Nagaur received 13.5 mm rainfall, while Pali recorded 11 mm. Jaisalmer and Jodhpur received 9.8 mm each.The widespread weather activity also brought a sharp fall in night temperatures. Kota’s minimum temperature was recorded 8°C below normal, while Barmer, Jaisalmer and Udaipur reported minimum temperatures nearly 6°C below seasonal averages.