After reeling under the scorching heat for the past few days, the people of Prakasam district heaved a sigh of relief on Friday, with Ongole and many places in the district receiving light to moderate rain.
Amid mercury levels hovering around 35 degrees Celsius in August, the showers provided much-needed relief as the temperatures dropped by two to three degrees Celsius.
The district registered an average rainfall of 1.9 mm as against the normal of 4.4 mm on Friday. Thumalacheruv recorded a maximum rainfall of 37.5 mm, followed by Sanamaru (33.5 mm), Ulichi (30.75 mm), Chatlamitta (30.5 mm), S.N. Padu (22.75 mm), Mekalavaripalli (23 mm), Devarampadu (21.5 mm) and H.M. Padu (20 mm).
The ongoing wet spell would bring solace to the farmers in the drought-prone district, which recorded rainfall of only 134.8 mm as against the normal of 175.5 mm during the current southwest monsoon, leaving it with a rainfall deficit of 23.2%, weather officials said. Twenty-three of the 38 mandals in the district have experienced deficit rainfall so far, they said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a subdued rainfall activity in the region for the next week.
However, the sharp showers that lashed Ongole in the afternoon for about one hour left many of its roads came under sheets of water. Motorists had a tough time driving on pothole-ridden roads. Water from clogged sewers overflowed onto the streets in some parts of the city.
