Residents in Hyderabad got some respite from the rising temperature, as a mild hailstorm struck a few areas of the city and neighbouring parts of Telangana on Saturday evening.
According to media reports, the hail stones fell in areas like Shaikpet, Manikonda and Hafeezpet, besides parts of Secunderabad like Tarbund and Bowenpally. Areas near Medak and Sangareddy also witnessed heavy rainfall.
"We have been forecasting thunderstorm with gusty winds for the last two days. We find the trend continuing for the next one week because of the changed temperatures and humidity," YK Reddy, the head of IMD Hyderabad, was quoted as saying.
“Due to high humidity and mercury level, thunderstorm activity occurs. The intensity was stronger in the north-east part of the city. Few areas such as Hi-tec City, Hafeezpet, Hakimpet, Kondapur witnessed gusty winds along with light rain and thunderstorm,” Reddy added.
Several citizens also took to social media and posted photos and videos of the unexpected showers.
“Haven't seen raining hail stones in the past 4 years. Hyderabad is witnessing today, a rain of stones, amid a very hot weather. This is very refreshing,” one user tweeted.
Looks like Rain Gods will shower their blessings today in Hyderabad.#Hyderabad #rain pic.twitter.com/v6W64QHCq1
— Bhartendu Sharma (@Bhartendulkar) March 31, 2018
#Rain is back in #hyderabad temperature comes down, its cool climate now @WeAreHyderabad @HiHyderabad pic.twitter.com/12ovxgeLeg
— Saikiran Rao Jupelly (@imsaikiran_rao) March 31, 2018
Haven't seen raining stones in the past 4 years.#Hyderabad is witnessing today, a rain of stones, amid a very hot weather. This is very re freshening, climate changed! #Happy
— Ajay Kumar (@ajaykumargande) March 31, 2018
Heavy rain & hailstorm, accompanied by strong winds, hit parts of Hyderabad #Telangana pic.twitter.com/vEezneyVd3
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2018
Heavy rain & hailstorm, accompanied by strong winds, hit parts of Hyderabad #Telangana pic.twitter.com/8p1G6A3dlN
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2018
This came one day after at least four people were killed and around 30 injured, after a hailstorm followed by a heavy downpour hit Vontimitta village in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district on Friday evening.
The incident occurred on the eve of Ram Navami when many people had gathered in the area's famous Kodandarama Temple.
As the hail and rain lashed the area, several temporary shelters and sheds that were put up for the devotees collapsed, injuring several people and killing a few. One woman among the deceased, was reported to have died of a heart attack.
Several areas in Bengaluru like Whitefield and KR Puram also witnessed a hailstorm on Friday afternoon.
The Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSDMC) said that a sudden drop in temperature could have likely caused the hailstorm.