Rain during May surplus in Haryana and Punjab, less in Himachal

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

While rain during the month of May has been noticeably surplus in the agrarian states of Haryana and Punjab, it has been a notch below normal in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh during this period.

Rain was 138 per cent above normal in Haryana and 39 per cent above normal in Punjab, but deficient by 4 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, data compiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the period from May 1 to May 31 reveals.

According to IMD, Haryana received 45.1 mm ran during the month as compared to the normal 18.9 mm for this period, while Punjab received 25 mm as compared to 17.9 mm. Himachal received 63.8 mm against the normal of 66.8 mm for the said period.

In Haryana, Sirsa, Fatehbad and Hisar were the districts that received the least rainfall in the state during May. In Punjab, it was Faridkot, Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur, while in Himachal Bilaspur, Lahaul and Spiti and Hamirpur were the driest districts.

Even for the season beginning March 1 this year, rains in Haryana were surplus  by 39 per cent, but deficient in Punjab and Himachal by 7 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

The region had witnessed thunderstorms and rainfall on several occasions during the month, which kept the temperature low on some days. The rains were attributed to western disturbances. Rains over the mainland came even as both, the western as well as eastern coasts, were lashed by cyclones this month.

Many areas northern and central parts of the country had witnessed severe winds accompanied by lightning and heavy rain that had damaged power transmission lines and property as well as uprooted trees.

The weatherman has further predicted thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and some other parts of the country on June 1 and June 2.