Mar 22, Jammu Tawi: Fairly widespread rainfall or snowfall and thunderstorms with lightning are possible over Western Himalayan Region—which includes Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand—until March 24.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a western disturbance (WD) has induced a cyclonic circulation over northwest Rajasthan. The WD is expected to intensify further and slowly move eastwards during the next two days.
Parts of north and northwest India, including Delhi, have already started to experience blazing summer heat in March itself. And the mercury levels are waiting to soar high further in the coming months. However, some short respite is possible as wet weather conditions are on the cards over these aforementioned regions for the next two-three days.
Under the influence of these conditions, the moisture incursion is expected to increase over northwestern plains and adjoining the Western Himalayan Region. Along with this, the establishment and strengthening of southerly and southwesterly winds over the north Arabian Sea have been forecast from Monday (March 22) night onwards.
Some parts of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and Muzaffarabad may also experience isolated hailstorms on Monday. Hail is possible over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well on Monday and Tuesday.
Moreover, some parts of the Western Himalayan Region may also experience isolated heavy rainfall or snowfall on March 22 and 23. As per The Weather Channel met team, the peak fall over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh is expected on Monday and Tuesday with some ease on Wednesday. The three-day snow accumulation could add to a total of over 100 cm across the region.
Owing to these rough weather conditions, the met department has placed an orange alert over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the next two days, while the latter will continue to remain in the same advisory for Wednesday as well. The advisory instructs residents to ‘be prepared’ for rough weather. Meanwhile, Jammu & Kashmir has been placed under yellow watch for Monday and Tuesday, where the alert instructs ‘be aware’ of the local weather situation.
Thunderstorms forecast over Delhi
As for the northwestern plains, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning are possible over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh on March 22 and 23. Moreover, isolated to scattered rainfall is possible over Rajasthan on these aforementioned days.
On the other hand, some places of Punjab may also experience heavy rainfall on March 22. As per IMD, isolated hail storms may lash parts of Punjab and west Rajasthan on March 22; and over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh and east Rajasthan on March 22-23.
Owing to these conditions, an orange alert has been issued over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan for Monday and Tuesday. Further, a yellow watch has been issued over west Rajasthan for Tuesday.
With the pleasant weather, the overall air quality of the capital city lies in the ‘moderate’ quality at 170. In terms of temperature, the maximums are expected to be above 30°C, while the overnight minimums are likely 4°C to 8°C warmer than normal across Delhi and the NCR on Monday.
Since the beginning of the pre-monsoon season across India on March 1, multiple western disturbances have successively impacted the North Indian weather, and yet the precipitation recorded by a majority of the states and territories in the region has remained much below average.
From March 1 to March 21, Jammu & Kashmir has recorded the highest amount of precipitation at 53.2 mm, followed by Himachal Pradesh (20.5 mm), Uttarakhand (7.4 mm), Ladakh (4.8 mm), Punjab (3.6 mm), Haryana (3.5 mm), Chandigarh (1.9 mm), Delhi (1.1 mm) and Rajasthan (0.9 mm).
