The weather across Rajasthan has flipped completely. A burst of pre-monsoon activity has handed much of the state relief from the searing heat and heatwave conditions. Over the past 24 hours, both eastern and western Rajasthan recorded moderate to heavy rainfall, giving people a welcome break from the scorching afternoons. A strong weather system is currently in play, and over the next two to three days, different divisions of the state are likely to keep seeing thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds along with rain.
According to the latest figures, the heaviest rain in western Rajasthan over the past 24 hours fell at Sardarshahar in Churu district, which logged 56 mm. In eastern Rajasthan, Sunel in Jhalawar district topped the chart with 45 mm. Several pockets of the capital Jaipur and the Kota division also saw light to moderate showers, which pulled daytime maximum temperatures down sharply. The monsoon continues to advance, and rain activity is expected to intensify across more parts of the state in the coming days.
Temperature and rain in key cities
Amid this pre-monsoon churn, the temperature and rainfall picture has shifted noticeably from district to district. Jaipur and its surroundings are enjoying pleasant weather. The capital received about 16.4 mm of rain in the past 24 hours, with the minimum temperature settling at 28.9 degrees Celsius. Churu recorded a maximum of 39.8 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 25.0 degrees Celsius. In contrast, Phalodi in western Rajasthan stayed hot, clocking the state's highest maximum at 41.4 degrees Celsius. Bikaner saw a maximum of 39.3 degrees Celsius, but its minimum dropped to 25.0 degrees Celsius, a full 4.7 degrees below normal.
What changed the weather
Scientists at the Jaipur weather centre say a Western Disturbance is currently active as a cyclonic circulation over Haryana. Alongside it, an upper-air cyclonic circulation is sitting over central Pakistan and the adjoining parts of northern Rajasthan. Together these systems will keep moderate to heavy rain with thunder going over parts of the Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Ajmer and Kota divisions for the next two to three days.
Today's alert
A warning has been issued for several districts in the Jaipur, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Kota, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions on June 26. These areas are under yellow and orange alerts for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds blowing at 40 to 60 km/h. The forecast points to rain activity picking up in eastern Rajasthan in the last days of June, before the downpours ramp up sharply across the entire state from the first week of July.
