Tauktae brings untimely rain to Uttar Pradesh
A rain-washed street in Lucknow on Thursday after intermittent showers lashed the city throughout the day under the impact of Cyclone Tauktae. Lucknow received 8.6 mm rainfall in the day, which led to a dip in temperatures. The maximum temperature settled at 31.8 degrees Celsius that was 8 degrees less than normal. The minimum too dipped by 1.6 degrees to settle at 23.6 degrees Celsius. As per the IMD, over 50 districts of the state received above average rainfall since last week. The number of districts with ‘large excess rain’ will go up in days to come as the impact of the cyclone and western disturbances will remain over the state till May 21, the IMD added.
LUCKNOW: Over 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh have received above average rainfall since last week caused by Tauktae cyclone that made landfall on the country’s west coast on Sunday, according to data released by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday.
As per latest IMD data, 52 of the total 75 UP districts have received departure of over 100% rain in last few days which is categorised as ‘large excess’ (LE).
State meteorological department director JP Gupta said, “The rainfall was more in western UP districts than those in eastern parts of the state. The state has received large excess rain in 52 districts, excess rain in 11 districts, normal rain in six districts, deficient rain in five districts while one district did not receive any rainfall. The number of districts with large excess rain will go up in coming days because the impact of the cyclone and western disturbances will remain over the state till May 21.”
In view of the excess rain, the district administrations across the state have been put on alert to minimise damage caused by heavy rain. Several district administrations have further started survey to assess damage caused by heavy rain in their districts.
According to experts, the untimely rain will have the biggest impact on the maize and menthol crops grown in various parts of the state. “The crop of maize, which is ready to be harvested, is impacted the most by untimely rain. Menthol is another crop which will suffer damage due to the rain. Besides, mango crop, which is a major economical crop in the state, will be impacted by strong winds accompanied by rain,” said Devesh Prabhakar, a Lucknow-based agricultural expert.