The Hindu Business Line : Fresh round of rains, snow for northwest India

A fresh western disturbance crossing in from the northwest has parked itself over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday, promising a fresh round of precipitation for the hills and plains of northwest India.

India Meteorological Department said in its outlook that fairly widespread rains were likely over the west Himalayan region on Thursday and Friday.

Isolated rain or thundershowers are likely over adjoining plains.

The minimum temperatures are expected to rise 3 to 4 deg Celsius over northwest, west and adjoining central India during the next three days as southwesterly winds associated with the fresh westerly system fan into the region.

The rains over the west Himalayan region would start lifting from Saturday onwards as the western disturbance takes leave.

Simultaneously, minimum temperatures are expected to fall by 2-4 deg Celsius over northwest and west India.

POOR RAINFALL

Rainfall statistics for northwest India so far (from January 1-28) has been below normal except over Jammu and Kashmir where it was in excess by 20 per cent.

Rain-bearing western disturbances have generally lacked the latitudinal depth to cover the plains to the south. This pattern has come to be blamed to persisting La Nina conditions in the equatorial Pacific, although there has been some shift away lately as witnessed in the number of western disturbances approaching northwest India.

The week ending January 28 saw Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and Meghalaya record normal to excess rains. The causative westerly systems kept their pace with western Himalayas being hit by one after the other.

The system located to over north Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir is the latest one in the series, and, according to international model predictions, would be followed by another one early next week. The arrival phase and the passing of these systems would trigger alternating warming and cooling episodes.

MERCURY FLARE

Latest temperature forecasts by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) suggest a flare-up over east and east-central India during February-March-April.

Among regions to take a hit are north Andhra Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand. But the northwest would see mercury holding largely within the normal range, although cooler than normal climes have been indicated for south Gujarat and parts of the northwest.

As for rainfall, normal to slightly above normal precipitation is indicated for parts of northwest and east and northeast India. The southwest coast (northern half of Kerala and adjoining coastal Karnataka) and south Gujarat too are predicted to receive slightly above normal rains during this period according to ECMWF forecasts.

An ECMWF outlook for peninsular India during this week and early into the next still indicated some activity over central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal before being propagated into southeast Arabian Sea. This is expected to trigger some stray showers along the southeast and southwest coasts.

More Stories on : Climate & Weather | Outlook

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Fresh round of rains, snow for northwest India

Alphonso mango arrivals seen delayed

Arecanut prices crash on high arrivals

Spot rubber turns weak

UP, Maharashtra sugar output estimates go awry

Zero duty raw sugar imports cleared

Demand for metals likely to revive after June

Nabard sanctions Rs 51 cr to Kerala

Nabard sees credit potential of Rs 25,927 cr in Gujarat

‘Banks must improve credit flow to revive economy’

New chief for Nabard (AP)