Sudden summer hail stumps scorched Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: After day-time temperatures crossed the 40° Celsius mark, evening brought some respite to Hyderabadis with several parts of the city receiving an intense bout of rain, accompanied by hailstorm. Pockets in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) south zone — Nampally, Goshamahal, Charminar, Mir Alam Mandi, Falaknuma, Balapur, Saidabad and other areas — saw marble-sized hail pelting down for 20 to 30 minutes, bringing down temperatures across town.
The highest rain was recorded in Nampally at 18.5mm, followed by Ghansi Bazar with 16.5mm rainfall.

“These hailstorms are a common phenomenon and occurs every time temperatures shoot up. Increase in temperature leads to more moisture in the air, leading to cloud bands forming rapidly. This year, within GHMC limits, this is the second such event recorded within the span of a month, which is normal during summers,” said an official from IMD Hyderabad.
Many residents in the Old City were pleasantly surprised by the sudden change in weather. Charminar’s pedestrian zone dotted with street shops, which is abuzz these days ahead of Eid, saw vendors rushing to wind up their stalls, to prevent their goods from getting damaged. Many others took to social media to share pictures of the hail, with some even collecting them. @im_sheenu from Goshamahal tweeted, “Shimla like feeling in Hyderabad”, while @mirzahyderabad tweeted “Kiraak hailstorm in southern part of #Hyderabad”.
While there was no hail in other parts of the city, areas such as Khairatabad, Uppal, Musheerabad, Secunderabad received light rains and strong gusty winds.
Hours before the hailstorm, Hyderabad saw high heat levels exceeding 40 degrees in many areas. Uppal recorded the highest temperature at 40.2 degree Celsius followed by BHEL with 40.1. Srinagar Colony and Nampally followed with 40 and 39.8° Celsius respectively. While this was not the hottest recorded temperature this year, the sustained high temperature over the last seven days could have been the reason for the sudden hailstorm, said Met officials.
Other parts of the state also witnessed high heat levels through the day with mercury levels in Nirmal shooting up to 44.8 degree Celsius. All of the other Telangana districts too recorded temperatures above 40 degrees.
And there appears to be no respite is in sight as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted sustained heat conditions with maximum temperatures being two degree above the current. The conditions will continue till April 21, after which central and western parts of the state will see a dip in heat levels.