The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said that north-west, eastern and southern States are likely to get rainfall, thunderstorm and hailstorms with strong winds in the next four days due to western disturbances and convergence of moist easterly and southwesterly winds in the lower levels. The present weather conditions is likely to stay for a few more days and will delay the onset of the heat wave. In the past one and half month, unexpected rainfall and thunderstorm have damaged 25-30 percent rabi and horticulture crops across India.
According to the IMD, northwest and north eastern states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand witnessed squally winds with widespread rainfall, thundershowers and hailstorms on Sunday. “The present weather conditions over North West and central India will remain till May 14. The Western Disturbance is likely to move further northeastwards and interact with the low-level circulation and easterlies over northwestern parts of India causing increase of moisture incursion in the region. This feature likely to cause isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers over Western Himalayan Region and plains of northwest India mainly during May 10-14,”the IMD said.
“Due to trough/wind discontinuity, isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers very likely over central & south peninsular India during the next 5 days,” it said.
The North West, Central, North-East and Southern states are also predicted to receive rainfall in the next four days.
According to Dr Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the IMD, said it was a result of a fresh western disturbance and this condition is likely to stay for a few more days and will delay the onset of the heat wave. The IMD has earlier predicted thunderstorms accompanied with lightning, hail and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) at isolated places in parts of northwest India.
The IMD in its weather summary and forecast bulletin predicted isolated to scattered rain/thundershowers, due to the Western Disturbance, over Western Himalayan region and plains of northwest India mainly between May 10 and 14 with peak activities on May 10. The north eastern and eastern may also receive scattered rainfall/strong winds/hailstorms in the next four days due to convergence of moist southwesterly winds in the lower levels.
“The Western Disturbance likely to move further northeast wards and interact with the low level circulation and easterlies over northwestern parts of India causing increase of moisture incursion in the region,” the IMD bulletin read.
The IMD predicted thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and gusty winds (speed reaching 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) till May 14.