Hyderabad, June 08: Finally, the southwest monsoon hit the city on Sunday, providing the much-needed relief from the sweltering heat. Though the monsoon entered the state on June 1, it took six days to reach the twin cities, missing the normal set date by two days, according to data posted on Indian Meteorological Department’s website. Also, cyclone Aila played its bit in slowing down the weather system.
Two spells of rain – one at around 4 pm and another at around 7.30 pm – sent mercury levels plummeting. By 8.30 pm, the city recorded 1.7 cms of rainfall.
However, the evening spell was accompanied by thunder and strong gales.
The Met Department officials confirmed that the rainfall was due to monsoon.According to the officials, chances of rain and thunder showers are likely during the next 48 hours.
Due to the gales which preceded the downpour, trees got uprooted in several areas. A tree got uprooted near Chanchalguda Press, blocking the traffic for nearly 30 minutes. It also tripped an electricity feeder, resulting in disruption of power supply for over two hours.
Similarly, two trees got uprooted on the Niloufer Hospital road and Amberpet, near Vigilance office, due to the heavy gales.
Bringing down the sweltering temperatures considerably, with the maximum temperature on Sunday recorded at 36.1 degrees, the rain also led to chaos on city roads with heavy water logging reported from Lakdi-ka-pul, Mehdipatnam, Abids, Punjagutta, Khairatabad, M J Market and parts of Secunderabad.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) emergency squad teams swung into action and took up clearing works.
With the day being Sunday, there was not much traffic on the roads, which would have otherwise resulted in traffic jams.
—Agencies–