Light to moderate rainfall in various parts of the country, including Delhi, on Tuesday brought respite from the scorching sun but heat wave claimed 16 more lives in Andhra Pradesh and three in Odisha, raising the nationwide toll to 2,357.
Delhi recorded 39.9 degrees Celsius as the maximum day time temperature, a notch below the normal temperature as the capital witnessed light rains.
The MeT department predicted partly cloudy skies and possibility of light rains and thunderstorm in some parts of the city on Wednesday.
Light to moderate rainfall also occurred in isolated areas of all the divisions of Rajasthan, leading to decrease in temperatures in parts of the state and bringing slight relief from the scorching heat.
The temperatures hovered between 37 and 42.3 degrees Celsius with Kota being the hottest at 42.3 degrees, according to MeT department.
Jodhpur, Jaipur, Barmer, and Churu recorded maximum of 40.5, 40.4, 39.9, and 39.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Thunderstorm with squall is likely to occur at isolated areas during next 24 hours, it said.
Light to moderate rain and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh also as a result of which day temperature fell appreciably in Allahabad, Kanpur, Jhansi, Agra divisions.
Temperature was appreciably below normal in Kanpur and Agra divisions but above normal in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and Faizabad divisions and normal elsewhere.
Fatehpur recorded the highest maximum temperature at 44.5 degrees Celsius.
The MeT department has warned that dust storm or thunderstorm would occur at isolated places over west Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday and Friday.
Temperature fell at most places across Odisha but the death toll mounted to 28 from 25 because of heat wave in some areas.
Bhubaneswar continued to remain the hottest place in the state for the second consecutive day with the relative humidity ratio remaining static at 89 per cent.
However, the IMD predicted a fall of temperatures in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday though the humidity ratio would continue to at around 89 per cent.
In Andhra Pradesh, 16 more deaths were reported, raising the toll to 1,735.
An official of Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Department told PTI that till 9 pm the toll has touched 1,735 mark. On Monday, the toll stood at 1,719.
Prakasam district has recorded the maximum number of deaths at 333, followed by Guntur - 237, Vizianagaram - 205, East Godavari- 206, Visakhapatnam - 193, Nellore - 165, Krishna - 80, Srikakulam - 68, Chittoor- 67, Anantapur - 63, Kadapa - 41, Kurnool - 40 and West Godavari - 37.
The figures pertain to the period from May 18 till 9 pm on Tuesday.
According to the MeT department, rain occurred at isolated places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema on Monday and the highest maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius was recorded at Jangamaheshwarapuram.
However, there were no fresh reports from Telangana on Tuesday on the heatwave related to deaths.
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