A western disturbance brought respite from the scorching heat gripping the region as gusty winds reaching up to 80 km/h lashed Chandigarh and adjoining Panchkula and Mohali besides parts of Punjab and Haryana on Saturday morning.Cycling enthusiasts enjoying the rain in Chandigarh on Saturday morning. The weather took a turn for a pleasant after over 10 days of scorching heat. (Ravi Kumar/HT)The sudden change in weather prompted the India Meteorological Department to initially issue its highest red alert early in the morning, advising residents to take immediate precautions before downgrading it to an orange alert by 11am.The meteorological observatory in Sector 39, Chandigarh, recorded 6.4mm of rainfall by 8.30am, though the airport observatory registered only a trace amount.The rain and wind brought Chandigarh’s minimum temperature down from 23°C on Friday to 19°C on Saturday. It is expected that day temperature will be considerably below normal as well, offering relief from consecutive days of maximum temperatures soaring past 40°C.In Punjab, Pathankot recorded the state’s highest rainfall at 18mm. Showers cooled Mohali, Kharar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.Meanwhile, parts of southern Haryana also received showers, including 11.5mm in Narnaul and 7mm at Mandkola in Hathin tehsil of Palwal district.Weather officials said that the active weather system, which originally moved into the region on Thursday and hit Delhi on Friday, will keep the skies cloudy with a persistent chance of light rain continuing through the rest of the day and into the coming week.