Assam: Monsoon takes a break, temperature rises in state

GUWAHATI, July 20, 2019: As Monsoon takes a break, hot climate grips the city, the temperature in Assam reaches 39.8 degrees Celcius  in Silchar in Barak Valley and 38.2 degrees Celsius in Lakhimpur in Brahmaputra Valley on Thursday, officials of the regional meteorological centre (RMC) said on Thursday.

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Met office said Guwahati recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, Dibrugarh 37.4 , Tezpur 37, Jorhat 37.7 and the lowest temperature of the day was recorded at Dhubri in Lower Assam at 34.6 degrees Celsius.

The weather has been no different in the other capital cities of the Northeast with Itanagar registering 38.8 degrees Celsius, Agartala 36.2 degrees Celsius, Imphal 32, and Kohima 30.2 degrees Celsius. Only Shillong recorded the lowest 27.1 degrees Celsius, the RMC bulletin said.

"The weather will remain dry for the next two days because of a depression in the northern part of Bay of Bengal. But after two days, there will be normal rainfall across the state. There could be rain in some isolated places in the next 48 hours," a Met official said.

Lack of rainfall in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar and North Lakhimpur in the past 24 hours added to the discomfort level.

"Compared to the past years, less rainfall has been registered this year but there is no warning of drought," the project director of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, Meenakshi Das Nath, said.

As the temperature rose, sale of cold drinks and fruit juice increased in the city. "The sale of both cold drinks and fruit juices has been very good since Tuesday. Even today, the sale increased by 30 per cent," Monoj Deka, a vendor in Chandmari, said.

Jokes on the sweltering weather went viral on the social media. "It has become impossible to run the business in such weather. There should be a proper place for street vendors like us," Uma Das, a vendor, said.

Traffic congestion added to the people's agony in Ganeshguri, Chandmari, Paltan Bazar and Silpukhuri on Thursday.

Source: The Telegraph

Featured image: Representation