People in Punjab, Chandigarh and parts of Haryana reeling under intense heat conditions for the past three weeks finally got respite with moderate rains lashing the region. <br/><br/>The maximum temperatures, which were hovering between 42-47 degrees Celsius in the region, witnessed a decrease of 3 to 8 degrees on Friday. The night temperatures, too, which had been hovering over 30 deg C, also came down considerably today.<br/><br/>In UP, also the severe heat wave condition has eased in eastern, terai and central regions but Bundelkhand and adjoining western districts are still experiencing simmering heat.<br/><br/>Jhansi remained hottest place with 34.6 degrees at 8:30 this morning. Storm is hitting isolated places causing damage to life and property. At least 17 people have been killed in storm-related incidents including house collapse and electrocution in different parts of the state during last 24 hours. <br/><br/>These include six deaths in Farrukhabad, five in Pilibhit, three in Hardoi, two in Sitapur and one in Varanasi. The road communication and power transmission has been badly hampered due to cyclonic storm. The met office has predicted dust storm or thunder storm over isolated places during next 24 hours.<br/>