Stormy weekend likely to spoil harvests

One swallow doesn’t a summer make. A spell of rain, hail and snow will bring bad and hazardous weather to many states, including parts of Maharashtra, this weekend, prompting worries that it could spoil harvests, clog highways and trigger landslides.

An intense “western disturbance”, or a squally weather pattern, is headed towards northwest India from the Iranian coast and will take hold from Friday onwards.

Storms could ruin ripening winter crops, such as wheat, again this year. Most northwest states will get rain on March 11-13. Predictions that hailstorms could hit farms in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have prompted the government to issue a farm alert.

Daytime temperatures, which have been climbing steadily over many northern cities, will likely fall by 3-4°C between March 12 and 14 and then rise again, an official said.

The weather could be severe enough in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, prompting a hazard warning by the weather office. Heavy rain could hit pockets in these three states. “Landslides or downhill flooding are a potential hazard these states should watch out,” a forecast official said, requesting anonymity. Driving in uphill regions could be risky too, he said.

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