Brings relief from the sweltering heat, but also led to falling trees, lightning strikes and unexpected dust storms
Tuesday afternoon saw a sudden change in weather with rains hitting many parts of the state. While it brought relief from the blistering heat, strong winds, dust storms and lightning strikes killed at least 11 people.
Death toll
A woman died under a falling live wire in Vasnava village of Viramgam block in Ahmedabad district. Three people were killed in Mehsana district, one by a falling tree and others by lightning while two each from Morbi and Banaskantha districts also died in lightning strikes. In Khakharabela village of Paddhari pocket of Rajkot district, a woman died when a tree fell on her.
In yet another incident, a man was killed when an electric pole fell due to the storm. One person in Ashiya village under Dhanera block and another in Chala village were also killed. Two people died in lightning strikes in the villages of Wankaner and Morbi blocks of Morbi district. In Surendranagar district, a woman was hit by a broken railway barricade damaged in a storm.
Due to low visibility resulting from a dust storm, a passenger died when a bus collided with another vehicle in Brahmanwada of Unjha district. In Ahmedabad, a tree was uprooted in Nehrunagar. At many places, hoardings and sheds were damaged. Due to a dust storm, air quality deteriorated considerably and overall AQI (Air Quality Index) in the city stood at 517.
Nationwide phenomenon
"There are pre-monsoon rain showers across India. Most of the states are receiving rains. Some places have recorded a 10-12 degree Celsius drop in maximum temperature in a day. Ahmedabad too witnessed relief from the heat," said Mahesh Palavat, chief meteorologist at Skymet.
"The last two days saw a cyclonic circulation from southwest Rajasthan and a trough line from Maharashtra to Karnataka. Humid winds from the Arabian Sea resulted in high temperatures. High temperature and increased humidity results in thundershowers. Current condition will last until Wednesday evening and then, the situation will become normal with temperatures surging," added the expert.
The IMD, in a bulletin issued on Tuesday, stated that light to moderate rain or thunderstorms were likely in districts of north Gujarat, namely Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Kheda, etc. It was also stated that maximum temperature would drop by 2-3 degree Celsius across the region over the next 24 hours, after which, it would rise again by 2-3 degrees.
For Ahmedabad, the Met department forecast partly cloudy skies with possibility of rain or thundershower. Maximum temperature is expected to remain around 37 degree Celsius while minimum temperature could be around 26 degree Celsius.
Dust storm 'rains on' PM rally preps
A dust storm on Tuesday damaged part of a tent being erected for the PM's April 17 rally at Himmatnagar town in Sabarkantha district. The cover of a structure was blown away, but the structure remained largely intact.
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