The weather ahead offers no lasting comfort. Saturday’s yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph — which had raised hopes of relief from the ongoing severe heatwave — produced no visible impact in Chandigarh, Mohali, or Panchkula through the day, with the Tricity remaining hot and dry.
For the coming week, IMD’s warnings paint a punishing picture: a heatwave at isolated places from Sunday, escalating to a severe heatwave from Monday, peaking at orange-alert level on Tuesday and Wednesday, before thunderstorms and gusty winds return on Thursday and Friday, offering another uncertain flicker of possible relief.
The week ahead, in short, delivers a grim combination — three days of orange-level severe heat sandwiched between two episodes of storm activity, with no sustained rain and no real break in sight.
Day-by-day warning breakdown
Sunday brings a yellow heat alert — a heatwave at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana — with partly cloudy skies and a maximum of 40°C in the Tricity. Monday steps up to a heatwave to a severe heatwave at a few places — the orange alert begins — with partly cloudy skies and a maximum of 41°C. Tuesday and Wednesday carry the sharpest warnings — a heatwave to a severe heatwave at many places — under mainly clear skies, with Tricity maximums reaching 42°C and 43°C, respectively. Thursday brings a change of character: thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph return alongside isolated heatwave conditions, with partly cloudy skies and a maximum of 44°C. Friday continues the same thunderstorms and gusty winds warning. The seven-day rainfall forecast shows dry weather from Sunday through Wednesday, with isolated rainfall possible in Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana on Thursday and Friday.
Saturday’s alert: All warning, no relief
Today’s yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph — which carried the possibility of isolated rainfall — failed to materialise in the Tricity through the day. Light rain and thunderstorms with lightning did occur at isolated places in Punjab, and gusty winds were observed at isolated places in Haryana and Punjab, but Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula saw no measurable precipitation. Heatwave conditions occurred at isolated places in Haryana during the 24-hour period.
Past 24 hours: Chandigarh holding steady, Punjab sees some rain
In Punjab, average maximum temperatures rose by 1°C on Saturday and were above normal by 1.6°C. Bathinda recorded the highest maximum in the state at 43.8°C. Among stations that received rainfall: Nawanshahr 2.1 mm, Faridkot 2.0 mm, Anandpur Sahib 1.5 mm, and Thein Dam and Bhakra Dam 0.5 mm each. Average minimum temperatures in Punjab fell marginally by 0.4°C but remain 2.6°C above normal. The lowest minimum in Punjab was 23.0°C at Gurdaspur.
In Haryana, average maximum temperatures fell by 1.2°C and are now near normal. Rohtak posted the highest maximum at 44.1°C — still 3.7°C above normal — followed by Sirsa at 44.0°C and Hisar at 42.4°C. Average minimum temperatures in Haryana also fell by 0.5°C and are near normal. Rohtak recorded the lowest minimum in Haryana at 24.6°C. Trace rainfall was observed at Hisar and Sirsa. Faridabad continued to log a minimum of 31.3°C, and Nuh received 1.5 mm of rain during the day.
Mohali logs Punjab’s warmest night
While daytime temperatures remained notable, nights are where the real misery lies. Mohali recorded the warmest night in Punjab at 29.1°C — a reading that offers residents almost no recovery from the day’s heat. Faridkot and Bathinda followed at 28.5°C and 27.0°C, respectively. In Haryana, Faridabad stayed at 31.3°C overnight, Nuh at 30.7°C, and Bhiwani at 30.0°C — the southern districts offering nights as punishing as the days. Ambala logged a minimum of 28.8°C.
Chandigarh: Temperature holds, nights cool slightly
Chandigarh’s maximum on Saturday rose modestly to 40.6°C — just 0.9°C above the seasonal normal — while the minimum dipped to 24.1°C, one degree below normal. Maximum relative humidity was 72 per cent and minimum 45 per cent, with the higher humidity reflecting the partial cloud cover. No rainfall was recorded. The city’s cumulative seasonal rainfall from March 1 remains at 105.0 mm — 107.5 per cent above the seasonal normal.
