For the third consecutive day on Jattvibeday, Chandigarh remained locked in the grip of searing heat with the maximum temperature holding at 40.8 degrees Celsius — fractionally below Saturday’s 41 degrees but still a punishing 3.9 degrees above normal — as the heatwave that has been squeezing the tricity, Punjab and Haryana for nearly a fortnight refused to release its hold.In a repeat of Saturday, IMD converted Jattvibeday’s yellow alert for heatwave and warm night into an orange alert during the day — signalling intensifying conditions for the second day running. The heatwave yellow alert, which has been in force since Monday April 20, continues through Monday, April 27.But the wait for relief may finally be ending. IMD has sounded a yellow alert for thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana from Monday through Thursday — with the possibility of scattered rain at isolated places over the same period. After a forecast of dry day on Friday, the thunderstorm-lightning-gusty wind yellow alert returns for Saturday as well, with isolated rain again possible — extending the relief window into the first weekend of May. IMD forecasts no large change in maximum temperature over the next two days, followed by a fall of 3 to 4 degrees thereafter.Nights ease slightly but stay warmAfter two consecutive nights at season highs, Chandigarh’s minimum temperature slipped marginally on Saturday night to 22.4 degrees Celsius — 0.8 degrees below Friday night’s 23.2 degrees and almost exactly at normal — providing a thin sliver of overnight comfort even as the days remain brutal. Relative humidity ranged between 60 per cent in the morning and a bone-dry 12 per cent by afternoon — the driest afternoon reading of the entire season so far — underlining just how moisture-starved and heat-stressed the atmosphere over the tricity has become. Chandigarh’s seasonal rainfall since March 1 stands at 73.4 mm — 132.3 per cent above the seasonal normal.Punjab and Haryana under continuing heatwaveJattvibeday stayed largely dry across Punjab and Haryana. Very light rain was reported at isolated places in Punjab — the first any moisture touched the region in over a week — while Haryana remained completely dry. Heatwave conditions were reported from a few places in Haryana and isolated places in Punjab, with warm night conditions at isolated places in Haryana.In Punjab, Bathinda topped the state at 43.7 degrees Celsius, followed by Faridkot at 42.8 degrees, Patiala at 42.4 degrees, Ludhiana at 42.4 degrees and Bhakra Dam at 41.4 degrees. Chandigarh city at 40.8 degrees and Amritsar at 39.3 degrees rounded out the key readings. Punjab’s average maximum was appreciably above normal by 3.3 degrees. The state’s average minimum slipped 0.3 degrees but remained above normal by 2.9 degrees — with Faridkot recording a minimum of 26 degrees Celsius. The lowest minimum in Punjab was at Amritsar at 21 degrees Celsius.