Bhubaneswar, June 21: The weatherman here has offered residents hope of relief from the sweltering heat that has gripped the state capital for the past couple of days.

The regional meteorological centre has predicted that an active monsoon will cause heavy rain in the next 24 hours in the state capital.

After the southwest monsoon officially arrived in the state on June 12, Bhubaneswar has received moderate rainfall, which lashed the city till June 15. However, the rain stopped abruptly after that, bringing back the hot and humid conditions that have made life difficult during the end of the summer months.

Now, the Met centre's prediction has given residents reasons to cheer. Weather experts said a trough line - an elongated or extended region of relatively low atmospheric pressure - running over the state continues to be active and will bring showers to the city. Rain will also lash several other parts of the state till June 26. The trough line is active over the northern coast of Odisha at present.

"A trough line is active over the state, which might trigger showers for most pockets, including the interior parts and the coastal belt. Heavy rain is likely to occur at one or two places of the state till June 26. The rain is likely to get heavier thereafter," said Met director Sarat Chandra Sahoo.

A light shower in the evening brought some relief for residents of the state capital, who had been suffering from the humid condition over the past few days. The Meteorological centre recorded a rainfall of 13.2mm in the city, which is the highest in the state. Koraput, on the southern edge of Odisha, received 12mm rainfall, the second highest.

The showers also brought down the minimum temperature to a low of 25.5°C compared to yesterday's 28.6°C. "Today's rain was a major relief for us. There were no rain at all for the past three days and the extreme humidity was making things extremely difficult for us," said Pratim Mishra, a resident of Unit-IX.

In a related development, the India Meteorological Department also traced an upper air cyclonic circulation, which remained persistent over north coastal Odisha. Besides, another trough line, which runs from the eastern part of Bihar up to north coastal Odisha, is also contributing to favourable conditions for rain.

"Trough lines, circulations and low pressures are important for the rain during monsoon. The more the number of systems formed over the sea, the more rain the state will get. The India Meteorological Department has already predicted a normal monsoon for this season. Looking at the situation now, we can hope for good rain in the coming months," said an official of the Met department.