At least five people, including a girl and two women, were killed in lightning strikes in four districts of Jharkhand in the past 24 hours, police said.

Two deaths were reported from Garhwa district on Friday, and one each from Ranchi, Dhanbad and Bokaro, officers said.

A 12-year-old girl, identified as Ashrita, was killed in a lightning strike when she was collecting mangoes from a tree with her parents at Kulli village under the Itki Police Station limits in Ranchi on Friday, an officer said.

Her parents were injured and admitted to the local health centre, he said.

In Garhwa, a 45-year-old woman died after being struck by lightning in Garakhurd village under the Kandi Police Station limits, while a man, aged 32, was killed in Banajangha village, another officer said.

A 44-year-old woman died at Chungi village in Rajganj Police Station area in Dhanbad, while a 21-year-old man lost his life in a lightning strike in Babudih village under the Pindrajora Police Station limits in Bokaro, he said.

(PTI)

Rain lashed several parts of Punjab on Saturday morning, bringing respite from the scorching heat that had gripped the region over the last several days.

Showers were reported from Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Rupnagar, and SBS Nagar, officials said.

Over the last few days, the maximum temperature has remained above the 40 degrees Celsius mark across Punjab and Haryana.

According to a meteorological department report, Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, received 6.4 mm of rainfall. The city's minimum temperature settled at 18 degrees Celsius, seven notches below the season's average.

Pathankot recorded 18 mm of rainfall, while SBS Nagar and Rupnagar received 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm of rain. 

(PTI)

Residents of Delhi will receive a welcome respite from the scorching summer heat over the weekend as temperatures will remain below seasonal norms under the influence of cloudy skies and intermittent weather activity. 

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a gradual rise in temperatures after Saturday, with maximum temperatures expected to inch upward in the coming days, signalling the return of warmer conditions across the national Capital.

The National Capital Region received much-needed relief from the scorching summer heat after strong winds, thunderstorms and light rain swept across parts of Delhi-NCR late on Thursday evening.

Friday also remained cloudy and comparatively cooler under the influence of a lingering western disturbance, bringing a significant drop in temperatures and improved air quality across Delhi-NCR.

(IANS)

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Saturday forecast heavy rainfall in 14 districts of Tamil Nadu even as several parts of the state continue to reel under intense summer heat.

The weather department attributed the changing weather pattern to a cyclonic circulation prevailing over the southwest Arabian Sea and adjoining regions.

According to the RMC, widespread rainfall activity is likely to continue across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal for the next week.

Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds has been forecast for Tiruchirappalli, Namakkal, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Dindigul and Theni districts.

Similar weather conditions are also expected in Vellore, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts.

The weather department further stated that heavy rainfall is likely to persist over the coming two days in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul, Erode, Namakkal and Tirupattur districts.

(IANS)

A young man lost his life, and another sustained serious injuries after being struck by lightning during a storm, strong winds and heavy rainfall in the Tungnath-Chandrashila region of Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand, according to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Upon receiving information about the incident, the SDRF launched a rescue operation under extremely challenging conditions.

On May 29, the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), Dehradun, informed SDRF that a group of trekkers were stranded in the Tungnath area due to adverse weather conditions and that several individuals had been affected by a lightning strike.

Acting swiftly, an SDRF team from Ratuda Post, led by Sub-Inspector Santosh Parihar under the supervision of Inspector Aniruddh Bhandari, was dispatched to the location with the necessary rescue equipment.

During the initial relief efforts, a critically injured youth was evacuated by other agencies and transported to a hospital in an 108 ambulance for medical treatment, while two other individuals were found safe.

However, 19-year-old Abhinav Vajpayee, son of Sanjeet Kumar and a resident of Lucknow, died on the spot after being struck by lightning.

(ANI)

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday inaugurated India's first SkyCast system at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

The system will support pilots, airlines, airport operators and air traffic management agencies with accurate weather information, nowcasting and early warning services.

It brings together real-time measurements of fog, aerosols, turbulence, moisture, visibility, and atmospheric conditions into a single advanced aviation weather intelligence framework.

In a statement, Singh said, "SkyCast is one of the biggest landmarks in India's aviation history as it combines multiple atmospheric observation technologies for fog monitoring, turbulence detection, and high-impact weather forecasting." 

The minister highlighted that only 18 such advanced systems exist across the world so far, and India has now become the 19th in the world to install this integrated atmospheric remote sensing system for aviation weather monitoring.

(PTI)

Seven people died in rain-related incidents across six districts of West Bengal on Friday afternoon, after an intense spell of thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain swept across Kolkata and several districts of south Bengal, officials said.

The state government would provide a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said.

"Seven deaths were reported due to weather-induced damage, including house collapse, electrocution, and lightning," Adhilkari said at the state secretariat, adding that the deaths were reported from South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipore, and Purulia.

The rainfall, while bringing relief from the scorching heat that prevailed in the region for the past few days, also resulted in major disruptions in public life.

(PTI)

A severe thunderstorm hit Dhanolti in the early hours of Friday, causing extensive damage to forest property, public infrastructure, and private buildings, officials said.

The storm uprooted 20 to 30 deodar trees and caused losses worth lakhs of rupees to the forest department.

The famous Eco Park was badly hit, with its adventure sports infrastructure, including the zip line, commando net, and cycling track, completely damaged, they said.

Uprooted trees also fell on the roofs of the tehsil residential quarters, the local hospital and private establishments including Hotel Royal Residency and Satkar Hotel, causing heavy damage. Jaunpur Forest Range Officer Latika Uniyal said officials have inspected the affected areas and initiated follow-up action. Locals have demanded that the administration assess the total destruction and grant immediate compensation to the affected families.

Meanwhile, a fresh spell of light to moderate rain, thunderstorms and snowfall in the higher reaches is likely in many parts of Uttarakhand on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department said.

(PTI)

The India Meteorological Department on Friday said Odisha is likely to receive below-normal rainfall during the monsoon season from June-September this year due to El Nino conditions.

As per the long-range weather forecast, north and western Odisha could record below-normal rainfall, while it is likely to be normal or above in the southern and central parts of the state, IMD Bhubaneswar Centre Director Manorama Mohanty said.

She said day temperatures in Odisha would remain in the range of 41-43 degrees Celsius at several places over the next two days.

Hot and humid weather would prevail in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghapur, Cuttack, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, and Nayagarh districts on Saturday, the official said.

Thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty surface winds of speeds reaching up to 60-70 kmph is likely to occur in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Boudh, Nuapada, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, and Deogarh districts on Saturday, the IMD said in a bulletin.

An 'orange warning' (be prepared to take action) has been issued for these districts for Saturday.

(IANS)