Moderate rains forecast for parts of flood-hit Bihar, WB

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Rains have been forecast in partsof flood-hit Bihar and West Bengal even as the weather officehas said that the south-west monsoon has withdrawn from westRajasthan. In Bihar, where floods this year claimed over 200 lives,the weathermna has said Patna and Gaya are expected to witnessgenerally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain orthundershowers tomorrow. Light to moderate rains occurred in several parts of thestate today, while heavy rainfall was recorded at one or twoplaces in the state. Gaya received of 2.4 mm (8.30 AM to 5.30 PM), while Patnaand Purnea received 0.4 and 0.2 mm rainfall respectively, theMet office in the state said. Meanwhile, as per the Central Water Commission report,the waters in Punpun river, was receding. The river was flowing 173 cm above the danger mark of50.6 m, the CWC report said adding, the water level isexpected to further reduce by 93 cm by tomorrow morning. It was flowing 236 cm above the danger mark yesterday. It was a sultry day in the national capital with themercury settling two notches above normal. "The maximum temperature was recorded at 36 degreesCelsius, two notches above normal, while the minimumtemperature was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius, a notch abovenormal," a MeT official said. Humidity levels oscillated between 94 and 52 per cent. The Met department forecast one or two spells of rain indifferent South Bengal and sub-Himalayan districts of NorthBengal over the next two days. Most parts of the state recorded little or no rainfall inthe last two days as the monsoon remained subdued. Meanwhile, Kolkata received 15.7 mm rainfall, the state’shighest precipitation in 24 hours since yesterday morning. The maximum temperatures went up by few notches abovenormal level at most places in Punjab and Haryana withChandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, recording amaximum of 35.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. Two flights to Chennai from different overseas cities werediverted to Bengaluru in the wee hours owing to heavy rainfallat and around the airport here. Cathay Pacific flight with 228 passengers coming fromBangkok, and Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpurwith286 on board could not land here due to the heavy downpour andwere diverted to Bengaluru, airport authorities said. The two flights were scheduled to land here at 3.20 am and3.50 am respectively. Several parts of the city and suburbs experienced sharpshowers since late last night till day break. According to the Met office, Chennai Airport recordedthree CM of rainfall in the last 24 hours ending 8.30 am thismorning, most of which was apparently in the early hourstoday. Chennai city as a whole received six cms of rain duringthe period. PTI TEAM TIR RGTIR