New Delhi, April 17 -- Parts of north India on Thursday witnessed heavy rain and thunderstorms while some others continued to reel under heatwave,

with Himachal Pradesh reporting one death caused by a

falling tree, while Barmer in Rajasthan sizzled at 45 degrees Celsius, weather department data showed.

In Himachal Pradesh, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms lashed several parts of the state, uprooting trees and disrupting power supply in many areas, including Shimla.

An eight-year-old boy, identified as Abhishek Kumar, died after a tree fell on a hut in Hamirpur's Barsar.

While Gondla in Lahaul-Spiti received 1 cm of snow since Wednesday evening, Seobagh in Kullu district recorded the highest rainfall at 28.8 mm, followed by Kukumseri in Lahaul-Spiti at 23.8 mm and Narkanda in Shimla district at 18 mm, the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) regional office in Shimla said. Hailstorms were witnessed in several parts of the state, causing damage to crops such as apple and other fruits which were in the flowering stage. Some houses have been damaged, according to reports, where restoration work is going on. The weather department has issued an "orange" alert for hailstorm and heavy rain and snow at isolated parts of the state on Friday, warning of thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds in 12 districts.

Heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds, lashed Chandigarh in the early hours on Thursday while many parts of Punjab too received downpour.

According to the MeT department, Chandigarh received 8.3 mm of rain before the sky became clear.

Places in Punjab which received rain in the early hours included Amritsar (4.5 mm), Pathankot (3.2 mm), Gurdaspur (18.8 mm) and Rupnagar (6 mm). In neighbouring Haryana, Ambala received light shower, the MeT office said.

However, there wasn't much relief from the scorching sun in the national capital on Thursday, where the maximum temperature touched 40.6 degrees Celsius, 3.8 notches above the seasonal average, IMD data showed. While the minimum temperature settled at 25.7 degrees Celsius, the second highest for the season so far, humidity levels fluctuated between 47 per cent and 32 per cent during the day, the IMD said. In Rajasthan, heatwave conditions persisted across the state on Thursday with Bikaner sizzling at 45.1 degrees Celsius, the highest so far this season.

Jaisalmer and Phalodi recorded a high of 44.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Churu and Chittorgarh at 44.2 degrees Celsius, Pilani 44.1 degrees Celsius, Kota 43.3 degrees Celsius, Banasthali (Tonk) and Bhilwara 43.2 degrees Celsius, while Ganganagar recorded a

high of 43 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.

The weather conditions are expected to remain unchanged over the next 24 hours with some relief from heat forecast from April 20 onwards.

Uttar Pradesh also experienced a hot day on Thursday, with the maximum temperatures in most parts nearing the 40 degrees Celsius-mark, according to the MeT department. Jhansi in the Bundelkhand region recorded a high of 42.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Bulandshahr at 42 degrees Celsius. In state capital Lucknow, the maximum temperature settled at 38.5 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was recorded at 25.1 degrees Celsius.

The MeT office has forecast clear skies with the possibility of rain and thundershowers at isolated locations on Friday.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.