Northwest, central India to get a reprieve from extreme heat today
After scorching temperatures reaching 45°C on Monday, Delhi and other northwestern Indian states can expect some calm from Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rains over Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday and Punjab on Wednesday, due to the formation of a new westerly disturbance that will pass across northwest India from Tuesday to Friday.
According to the weather system, wind gusts of 50-60 km/h are expected in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on Wednesday, while Uttarakhand will experience them on Wednesday and Thursday. Hailstorms are forecast in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, Haryana on Wednesday and northern parts of Rajasthan between Wednesday and Thursday.
This forecast follows scorching temperatures recorded in various parts of Delhi ranging from 43.4°C to 44.9°C. Jhansi recorded the highest maximum temperature at 46.5°C, closely followed by Churu in Rajasthan at 45.7°C and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh at 45.4°C.
West Bengal and Sikkim are gearing up for heavy rainfall from Tuesday to Thursday, while hailstorms are forecast in these regions along with Bihar through Wednesday. Assam and Meghalaya, on the other hand, are expected to experience light to moderate precipitation in the next two days, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds.
In light of these forecasts, Agromet, the agricultural division of India’s Meteorological Department (IMD), has issued advice to farmers in these areas. She is advised to store harvested produce in safer locations and provide young fruit plants and vegetables with mechanical support to protect crops from high winds. In addition, farmers are urged to delay irrigation and fertilization during gusty winds.
For farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Agromet recommends the application of irrigation to groundnut, green gram, black gram, summer corn, millet, jowar, watermelon, melon, cucumber and summer vegetable crops. Application of light and frequent irrigation in sugar cane, fruit orchards, black gram, green gram and vegetables is advised in Uttar Pradesh, and in summer rice, green gram and vegetables in Jharkhand.
The weather bureau forecasts that Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh will experience similar weather conditions to Northeast India in the next two days. The western regions of Madhya Pradesh are likely to witness hailstorms on Wednesday and Thursday.
Light to moderate rainfall is expected in large parts of South India over the next five days.
Heat wave conditions are likely in Jharkhand on Tuesday, while no significant change in maximum temperature is expected for the next five days in the rest of the country except northwest and central India.