The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast that the month of April would have 12% more rain than is usual over most of India except the northeastern States and part of the southern peninsula.
This also means that several parts of North India, which usually start to become hot and dry, were relatively cooler on account of several “western disturbances” (WD).
These are extra-tropical storms from the Mediterranean that bring in rains to India during the non-monsoon months. The month of March saw eight such WD in North India, two above the six that’s usual.
Following eight WDs in March, at least three or four distinct, strong systems affected northwest India through mid-April, causing significant damage to crops in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
The number of such WDs are expected to abate in the latter half of the month.
The WDs have an effect of improving air quality in some regions. The rain settles atmospheric dust but in the build-up to the rain, there can be a temporary rise in dust from the strong winds that precede these rains. ( Text by Jacob Koshy)
Photo: ANI
Slick streets, capital look: Pedestrians make their way along a glistening Kartavya Path following rain in New Delhi. The city’s weather depends a lot on the plains around it, and the Himalayas. If it snows in the ranges, it rains in the city or there is a temperature drop.
Photo: ANI
Himalayan blanket: A view of the town of Sissu after a fresh spell of snowfall, in Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
Photo: Imran Nissar
Colours of Kashmir: Amid a drizzle in Srinagar, tourists visit the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, one of the largest gardens of its kind in Asia
Photo: PTI
Monsoon prep: Workers cover wheat sacks with tarpaulin sheets to protect the grain from rain at a market in Patiala, Punjab
Photo: AFP
Winged visitors: A Pigeon is drinking water from a pot in Bengaluru.
Photo: PTI
Pink City in sepia: Commuters brave a dust storm as rain clouds cover the skyline at Sanganeri Gate in Jaipur.
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Under cover: People protecting themselves from rain during a spell in New Delhi.
Photo: ANI
An honest day’s work: A labourer sorts wheat grain in a field in Bhopal. Excessive and untimely rain can lead to crop damage.
Photo: ANI
Splash and dash: Vehicles ply on a rainy day in Prayagraj
Photo: PTI
Rain refugees: People take cover during a sudden shower at Sanganeri Gate in Jaipur.