LUCKNOW, April 20 -- Heatwave conditions gripped several parts of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday as day temperatures continued their gradual increase, meteorologists said.

Prayagraj recorded the country's second highest and state's highest temperature at 44.6degC, which is 4.7 degrees above normal. Akola and Wardha in the Vidharbha region were the hottest at 45degC.

In UP, other high temperatures were recorded in Varanasi (BHU) at 44.2degC, Sultanpur at 43.8degC, and Agra, Banda, and Jhansi all recorded 43.6degC.

"Driven by dry westerly winds entering the lower troposphere and the influence of an anticyclone centered near Interior Maharashtra, maximum temperatures across the state-with the exception of the Terai region of Uttarakhand-have gra...