Kanpur: After enduring a day of sultry and oppressive weather, residents of Kanpur received much-needed relief on Thursday evening as light rain accompanied by a dust storm brought down temperatures across the city.According to Automatic Weather Station, the city recorded 7.8 mm of rainfall during the evening. During the day, Kanpur recorded a maximum temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius, which was 0.5 degrees Celsius lower than Wednesday’s maximum. The minimum temperature settled at 27.4 degrees Celsius, slightly above normal, while night temperatures remained close to seasonal averages.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier issued an alert predicting moderate rainfall accompanied by dust storms and thunderstorms in Kanpur Nagar district. The forecast proved accurate as light to moderate showers along with strong winds lashed parts of the city in the evening.The IMD has forecast a strong possibility of light to moderate rainfall and thundershowers across the Kanpur division over the next 24 hours, which is expected to bring further relief from the hot and humid conditions prevailing over the past few days.Meteorologists attributed the expected increase in rainfall activity to the formation of a fresh low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal, which has reactivated the southwest monsoon over Uttar Pradesh.According to weather experts, the monsoon trough has been gradually returning to its normal position since July 17, allowing moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal to strengthen rainfall activity over the plains. With the new weather system becoming active, rainfall is expected to intensify across eastern and central Uttar Pradesh, including the Kanpur division, over the next three to four days.Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat are likely to witness partly to generally cloudy skies with chances of light to moderate rain or intense showers accompanied by thunderstorms during the afternoon or evening hours.Dr SN Sunil Pandey, weather expert at Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, said increased atmospheric moisture and enhanced inflow of moisture from the Bay of Bengal are likely to keep the Kanpur division under cloudy conditions between July 17 and July 19.
