Lucknow: The monsoon currents covered the entire UP on Thursday, but the rain in most parts of the state in 24 hours till Friday evening was far below expectations.Monsoon not only arrived late by two weeks this year, but also lost momentum after covering UP. Hence, in the past 24 hours, of 75 districts, 25 districts remained dry, while light to moderate rain was reported from other places. Only a few recorded heavy showers, according to the data of India Meteorological Department (IMD).The rain activity is expected to remain low the next 2-3 days, leading to a rise in temperatures by a couple of degrees and escalation of humidity levels with high discomfort levels. Thereafter, there are possibilities of revival of the monsoon due to change in weather conditions.“The monsoon turned weak after entering the state as the trough line (an elongated low pressure area) passing from over UP shifted southwards towards Madhya Pradesh. The situation is likely to remain the same for the next two days, after which the monsoon is expected to revive,” said Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow.For Saturday, IMD has forecast rain and thundershowers at isolated places across the state. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are also likely in parts of western UP.The overall rain in the monsoon season from June 1 till date in 52 districts out of 75 in the state has been deficient. It was normal in 10 (between 19% above and below normal), while five fell in the excess category (between 20-59% above normal) and one in the large excess category (above 60% below normal).As per IMD, the western parts of the state have recorded more rain than the east in the past two days. Consequently, the per district rain deficit of UP as on Friday stood at 43% below normal, a slight improvement from 54% below normal on Jun 30. The average per district shortfall in east UP improved marginally from 58% below normal on Jun 30 to 50% below normal on Friday. The improvement in east UP was better with per district average rains improving from 47% below normal on Jun 30 to 29% below normal on Friday.Hot and humid weather to continue in LucknowA day after light showers, Lucknow witnessed hot and humid weather on Friday. The maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 37.6 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius respectively, both slightly above normal. Relative humidity was high, between 53-94%, resulting in high uncomfortable sultry conditions. No significant relief is expected on Saturday. The sky will be partly cloudy with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 38 and 28 degrees Celsius respectively.
