Lightning strike kills five in Uttar Pradesh
The meteorological department said that there would be no rain in Lucknow on Monday, while Prayagraj and Varanasi may experience a few spells of rainfall.
LUCKNOW: At least five people died in separate lightning strike incidents while couple of houses collapsed in the state as rain and hailstorms lashed parts of the state on Sunday, a senior official said. The deaths were reported from Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Sitapur, Shahjahanpur, and Kaushambi.
Rain, accompanied by hail and overcast sky, brought down the maximum temperature below normal. Lucknow experienced 7.4 mm of rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Sunday. The city also received another 10.5 mm of rain overnight. Altogether, Lucknow recorded an overall rainfall of 17.9 mm. This is the highest rainfall in a single day in March in the last 3-4 years. On March 7, 2020, Lucknow witnessed 22.3 mm of rain.
The meteorological department said that there would be no rain in Lucknow on Monday, while Prayagraj and Varanasi may experience a few spells of rainfall.
The forecast for Lucknow includes mist/shallow fog in the morning with a partly cloudy sky later. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 26.0°C and 15.0°C, respectively.
In the state, rain/thundershowers are very likely at isolated places over East UP. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Lucknow were recorded at 22.4°C and 16.2°C, respectively, with the day temperature being 7.2°C below normal.
The meteorological department has issued a warning of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning/gusty winds (30-40 Kmph) very likely at isolated places over East UP.
As per the data provided by the relief commissioner, at least 12 districts experienced hail and rain. These districts include Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Muzaffarnagar, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kanpur Dehat, Shahjahanpur, Lalitpur, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, and Jhansi.
Districts that received heavy rains include Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Badaun, Baghpat, Bahraich, Balrampur, Bareilly, Deoria, Etah, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Hardoi, Kanpur Nagar, Rampur, Sambhal, Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi, Shravasti, Sitapur, Sonbhadra, Sultanpur, Unnao, Varanasi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Mainpuri, Mathura, Mau, and Rae Bareli.
Meanwhile, lightning struck in the Bharwari town area of Kaushambi district on Sunday evening. Locals complained that their television sets, inverters, refrigerators, and other home appliances were burnt due to the lightning strikes.
Crop damage
Excessive rain and hailstorms caused huge damage to crops and other agricultural yields in at least 10 districts. In Banda, mustard crops were damaged in 16 villages. In Fatehpur, wheat and mustard crops suffered damage in 10 villages. Similarly, 51 villages in Hamirpur, as well as Jalaun and Orai, reported similar losses. 23 villages in Kanpur Dehat and 27 villages in Kanpur City also experienced crop damage.