Surprise Weathers in North-Western India

Why in news?

The Northwest, Central and Western India is likely to experience less temperatures and spell of showers for few more days.

What is the present weather condition in North of India?

• Recently India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported fairly widespread precipitation across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra’s Vidarbha and Marathwada region.
• There were also reported snowfall in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• This showers are due to the interaction of western disturbances (cyclonic storms originating in the Mediterranean) and low-level easterlies.
• The current spell of rain in North and Central India will be beneficial to the standing Rabi crop, especially wheat.
• Minimum temperatures is also likely to come down by 2-3 degrees Celsius in Northwest, Central and Western India for few more days.

How this temperature will help Rabi crops?

• Usually till the last week of January both maximum and minimum temperatures will be at above normal levels in most wheat-growing areas.
• Generally this weather helps to prevent diseases like stem rot, white rust, blight, frost or aphid attacks etc. which take place during low or high temperatures, along with high humidity.
• For the crops is in the pre-flowering stage, and the light showers will help bring down temperatures, and provide much-needed water.
• The flowering transfer of pollen from the male to female parts of the flower) of the crop in northern and north-western India happens towards the last week of February.
• This ends with seed setting, and is followed by the “dough”, or grain-filling, stage from mid-March.
• Even in the grain-filling stage, day temperatures should not ideally cross the low 30s, so that the starch material accumulates gradually in the kernel for it to become hard and ripe for harvesting from mid-April.

What are the concerns of the farmers?

• The present light showers also create few concerns over chickpea and lentils that are in the maturity or harvesting stages.
• Apart from that farmers and scientists are worried about a recurrence of March 2015, which saw unseasonal heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds and hailstorms, in large parts of North, West and Central India.
• The Rabi crop that was either in the grain-filling stage, or lying in the fields after harvesting, suffered massive damage.
• If rain is followed by sunshine, there can be grain shattering (dispersal before pod ripening) and harvesting losses.
• But any such concern is currently limited mainly to the pulses crop, particularly in Maharashtra and MP.

Source: Indian Express