Rains to lash north India this week
RELIEF Delhi, Punjab, Haryana may experience dust storms; rain, thunderstorms are anticipated in the country from today
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rains in the national capital region and north-western parts of India this week, courtesy a western disturbance in the region that has brought relief from a spell of warm weather sweeping the region.
Delhi and adjoining areas may experience dust storms and rain and thunderstorms are anticipated on Thursday and Friday evening.
A warning for heavy snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday has been issued in Jammu and Kashmir.
Western disturbance refers to a system of low pressure that moves from west to east, bringing moisture from Eurasian water bodies, and is responsible for winter rain in north-western India and snowfall in Himalayan tracts.
The north-west region, including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi NCR, can expect bouts of rain from Wednesday evening to Friday. UP and northern Rajasthan will see light showers or thundershowers during the same period.
The western disturbance is likely to bring temporary relief to India’s northwest region as the long-term forecast from IMD shows that temperatures over the next three months from March to May will be at least a degree above normal.
These rains are important for rabi crops such as wheat.
March 1 usually marks the beginning of pre-monsoon season in India which lasts until May.
However, the winter season in the past couple of years has not been receiving adequate rainfall.
A new study centred on the impact of western disturbances on India’s weather found that the El Nino, or the unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean, may have indirectly contributed to the low rainfall during winter months by deflecting western disturbances away from India.
“In winter, the precipitation over north-west India mainly occurs due to western disturbance activity over that region,” Soumik Basu, lead author of the study and research fellow at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, said.
“In our recent research, we have shown that in 2015 November-December, north-west India received remarkably low precipitation.”
These low-pressure systems are carried by a narrow band of strong winds called the jet stream that is known to affect weather patterns.
If the position of the jet stream changes, the path of the western disturbance also changes.
“It is like a boat travelling in a river,” Akshay Deoras, one of the co-authors of the paper, explained.
The hypothesis put forward by the researchers to explain the low rainfall is that the warming of the tropical Pacific translated into warming of the Arabian Sea, creating an area of high pressure over western India.
During normal conditions, a high-pressure zone develops near the Yemen-Oman-Somalia region.
Due to this, the jet stream and western disturbance penetrate into Jammu and Kashmir and north India, according to Deoras.
The onset of summer in Karnataka has spelt disaster for forests across the state, with about 715 square kilometres of land reported to have burnt down in fire since February.
Bandipur National Park, home to nearly 120 tigers, is one of the worst affected. Forest minister Ramnath Rai said the park accounted for about 40 hectares of forest land affected by the fire.
The prevailing drought condition, due to deficient rainfall for the third consecutive year in the state, has worsened the situation. “There has been a 65% deficient rainfall in this area,” said T Heeralal, director of the Bandipur National Park.
However, Heeralal pointed out
A WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOWFALL ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY HAS BEEN ISSUED IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR