Rain in parts of north, northeast India; Assam flood situation worsens affecting more than 4.5 lakh people

Some parts of north and northeast India got some breather from hot weather conditions after it rained on Sunday, while the flood situation in Assam deteriorated affecting more than 4.5 lakh people. In the national capital, the maximum temperature settled at 36.8 degrees Celsius and the minimum was recorded at 28.4 degrees Celsius. The humidity level oscillated between 42 and 71 per cent, weather department officials said. Mercury dropped sharply across Punjab and Haryana after the region was lashed by rain. Chandigarh, which received rain in the morning, recorded a maximum temperature of 30.7 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal. In Punjab, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded maximum temperatures of 29.9 and 29.4 degrees Celsius after heavy downpour. Amritsar, too, was lashed by rain and the maximum settled at 31.1 degrees Celsius, eight degrees below normal. In Haryana, Ambala recorded a high of 30 degrees Celsius and Karnal's maximum settled at 27.5 degree Celsius, 10 notches below normal. In Rajasthan, Churu was the hottest place with a maximum of 40.9 degrees Celsius. Jaisalmer, Kota, Jaipur, Barmer and Bikaner recorded their maximums at 40.5, 39.8, 39.7, 39.6 and 39.5 degrees Celsius, respectively. The weather department has predicted thunderstorm with light rain at isolated places in the state. Thunderstorm or dust storm, accompanied with gusty winds, are very likely at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh today. According to the India Meteorological Department, the Southwest Monsoon has weakened after remaining "very active" during the first half of June and is expected to revive in the next five-six days. An official said the "lull" in monsoon activity was normal. "The further advance of the Southwest Monsoon has weakened. It was very active until June 15, but there is a lull now. However, it expected to revive in the next five-six days," IMD Additional Director-General Mritunjay Mohapatra said. The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 29, three days ahead of its normal onset and, over the past few days, it had battered parts of the western coast and the northeast. For Today, the IMD has predicted "heavy to very heavy rain" at a few places in Konkan, Goa and coastal Karnataka and heavy rain in parts of the sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, central Maharashtra and Kerala. "Thunderstorm accompanied with squall are very likely at isolated places over Punjab while thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds and lightning are very likely at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Marathawada," the IMD said. The flood situation in Assam continued to deteriorate with five more people losing their lives since saturday. More than 4.5 lakh people have been affected in the deluge across six districts. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), five persons lost their lives in flood-related incidents in three districts. With this, the death toll has climbed to 12 in the first wave of flood in Assam this year. The ASDMA said over 4.48 lakh people have been affected in Hojai, Karbi Anglong West, Golaghat, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Cachar districts. Till yesterday, 4.25 lakh people were affected across seven districts in Assam. PTI