Pre-monsoon showers bring relief to Lucknow; IMD warns of heavy rain in 13 UP districts

Clouds hovered over Lucknow on Tuesday morning, accompanied by cool easterly winds. The day is expected to see intermittent sunshine and light showers. According to weather reports, active weather systems over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are expected to intensify monsoon conditions in Uttar Pradesh within 2–3 days. Following which, Meteorological Department has issued a warning for heavy rainfall on 18 and 19.

Meanwhile, strong winds of 40–50 km/h are expected today across many UP districts. The Met Department reported light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms in 51–75% of western UP and 26–50% of eastern UP. Notable rainfall included:

• Bareilly: 149.4 mm

• Nakur (Saharanpur): 120 mm

• Bijnor: 86 mm

• Mankapur (Gonda): 83 mm

• Shardanagar (Lakhimpur Kheri): 66.4 mm

Lighting warning has been issued in Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Kushinagar, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Balrampur, Shravasti, and Bahraich.

The rainfall has come as a boon for paddy and sugarcane farmers, allowing sowing to begin without irrigation. However, there are concerns that excessive moisture may harm mango, jamun and vegetable crops.

The maximum temperature will hover around 35°C today. As per reports, mercury has dropped significantly in the last three days. On Monday, the maximum temperature stood at 35.7°C, 2.3°C below normal. Sunday recorded 39.9°C, and Saturday a sweltering 42.6°C.