From correspondents in India, 10:00 PM IST

Rains continued to lash the capital for the fourth consecutive day Tuesday, bringing the mercury down to a cool 20.8 degrees Celsius.

Several parts of the capital received overnight rains that kept the minimum temperature six notches below what is normal for this period of the season. The maximum temperature in Delhi Tuesday was 29 degrees Celsius, a whopping 11 degrees below the normal.

While many Delhiites were seen enjoying the rain-soaked morning by riding out on their two-wheelers and cars, the traffic slowed down in the rush hours because of the drizzle that continued for most of the day.

However,the showers did not lead to major traffic snarls as the number of vehicles on the roads was less than normal, Tuesday being the "Buddha Poornima" holiday.

The Met Department attributed the rains and dip in temperature to the cyclonic circulations prevailing over Pakistan and adjoining Rajasthan and also over Himachal Pradesh and adjoining Haryana.

In the rest of the country too, the weather remained somewhat pleasant as widespread rains and thundershowers kept the mercury low.

According to the weatherman, widespread rainfall accompanied with isolated thundersqualls/hailstorms are likely over Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and west Uttar Pradesh Wednesday and Thursday.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim and north-eastern states are also expected to receive good amount of rainfall coupled with isolated squalls during that period, the Met Office forecast.

The weather in central India will, however, remain dry though rains and thundershowers are expected at a few places in Chhattisgarh and western Madhya Pradesh.

Prevailing heat wave condition over coastal Andhra Pradesh is likely to abate during the next 2-3 days, the Met Office added.

The following were the maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall figure in major cities for the 24 hours till Tuesday evening, with figures in brackets denoting deviations from the average:

City Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Rainfall

(C) (C) (mm)

Delhi 29.0 (-11) 20.8 (-06) 5.0

Mumbai 34.5 (+2) 28.4 (+2) Nil

Chennai 40.3 (+2) 29.2 (+1) 1.0

Kolkata 34.6 (-1) 24.1 (-3) Trace

Ahmedabad 40.8 (-1) 27.0 (0) Nil

Bangalore 34.2 (0) 22.5 (0) Nil

Bhopal 40.7 ( +1) 26.8 (+1) Nil

Bhubaneshwar 36.9 (-1) 27.0 (0) Nil

Chandigarh 27.4 (0) 16.8 (0) Trace

Dehradun 28.1 (-8) 20.4 (-1) 3.0

Goa (Panjim) 33.9 (+1) 26.2 (0) Nil

Guwahati 30.0 (-1) 24.6 (+2) Nil

Hyderabad 38.0 (0) 23.0 (-3) 0.4

Jaipur 38.2 (-2) 27.2 (+1) Nil

Lucknow 37.6 (-2) 24.0 (-1) Nil

Nagpur 43.6 (+2) 30.0 (+2) Nil

Patna 32.2 (-7) 23.0 (-3) 0.7

Pune 36.5 (0) 24.2 (+1) Nil

Srinagar 26.4 (0) 11.6 (0) Nil

Thiruvananthapuram 32.6 (+2) 25.4 (0) Nil

(Staff Writer, © IANS)