Lucknow, May 15: At least 50 people were feared dead across Uttar Pradesh and in other parts of North India due to strong winds that lashed several parts of the state on Wednesday, district administration officials said. Deaths were reported from variosu districts including Mathura, Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Firozabad, Farrukhabad, Sitapur, Etawah, Unnao, Agra, Jalaun, Kannauj, and Aligarh, they said.

Strong gusts of wind accompanied by a short spell of rain lashed capital Lucknow and other parts. The wind speed recorded at Amausi Airport was approximately 70-75 km an hour, a met department official in Lucknow said. Met department director K P Kulshrestha said the stormy conditions were typical of the pre-monsoon period.

''The change in weather was owing to the upper air cyclonic circulation formed in different parts of the north-west regions of the country,'' he explained.

Kulshrestha said Delhi and Agra had also experienced similar weather conditions.

The met department said the city would continue to witness strong winds and rain in the coming few days.

Agricultural scientists, meanwhile, said the stormy weather could affect crops of mango, musk-melon and water-melon.