Expect torrential rains over northwest India during the weekend, warns weatherman

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, June 26

A day after the weather department said that the monsoon is expected to hit the region in three or four days, it has now warned of a torrential downpour over parts of north-west India during the weekend.

“Rainfall activity is likely to increase over northwest India with heavy to very heavy rainfall likely during June 28-30,” according to a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.

Issuing an orange alert for Haryana and a yellow alert for Punjab, the weatherman has also warned of thunderstorms and lightening at some places in these states in which isolated drizzle was experienced in a few areas over the past 24 hours.

At present, the northern limit of the monsoon is passing through Shivpuri, Siddhi, Lalitpur, Chaibasa, Haldia, Pakur, Sahibganj and Raxaul. Conditions are likely to become favourable for its further advance into some parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and northern parts of Punjab and Haryana.

According to IMD, a western disturbance as a trough in middle tropospheric westerlies runs roughly along the Iran-Pakistan border, while a cyclonic circulation lies over Northwest Rajasthan. Under the influence of these two systems, isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds with speeds of 30-40 kmph are very likely over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on June 26-27, which are likely to increase in intensity.

The arrival of the monsoon comes in the backdrop of the region experiencing a severe deficit of rain in June so far, with the shortfall being 77 per cent in Punjab, 73 per cent in Haryana and 52 per cent in Himachal Pradesh. Rainfall in these states was severely deficient in May this year also, with the shortfall being 86 per cent in Punjab, 79 per cent in Haryana and 72 per cent in Himachal Pradesh.

Above normal temperatures and warm night conditions continued to prevail in Punjab and Haryana, but the heat wave conditions are now expected to abate, with the maximum temperature over north-west India very likely to fall by 3-5 C over the next few days.

Over the past 24 hours, the average maximum temperature in Punjab has been above normal by 3.8 , while the average minimum temperature has been markedly above normal by 5.2°. In Haryana, the average maximum and minimum temperatures have been above normal by two degrees and 3.7 degrees, respectively, according to IMD data.