The IMD's forecast for the coming fortnight showed that a fresh Western Disturbance is approaching Western Himalayas
A fresh Western Disturbance over the Himalayas and a trough over the Bay of Bengal is set to bring rainfall in North, South and central eastern parts of the country, bringing relief from an early bout of heat.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD)'s forecast for the coming fortnight showed that a fresh Western Disturbance is approaching Western Himalayas. This will bring snow and rains to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, parts of Haryana and Punjab, and in the Northwest, including Delhi. It will make days cooler due to cloudy conditions and nights warmer this week.
A Western Disturbance is an extra-tropical storm that originates in the Mediterranean Sea and travels eastward carrying icy winds and draws moisture from the Arabian Sea. While passing over the region, the moisture and southwesterly winds result in clouding over Northwest, thus making days cool and nights warm and humid. The weathermen explained that once the Western Disturbance crosses India, infusion of cold air will make nights cooler in the Delhi-National Capital Region, Haryana and Punjab.
The conditions forecast will bring relief from above-normal temperatures seen in Delhi-NCR. In the last week of February, maximum temperatures were the highest in the last decade. "The Western Disturbance brings southwesterly winds while passing over the Western Himalayas. The moisture levels go up as a result, leading to cloudy conditions. This also causes a rise in evening temperatures. Besides North, there will be rainfall and thundershowers over Andhra coast, north Karnataka and coastal Tamil Nadu," said M Mohapatra, Director General, National Weather Forecasting Centre.
Meanwhile, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have already seen a fair amount of rainfall in the past week and is likely to see more of it, owing to a trough over Bay of Bengal. In Karaikal, Puducherry, which was recently declared drought-hit, there was a whopping 170mm of rainfall while Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, recorded 90 mm rainfall. In Kerala, Kollam, Idukki, Kottayam, Kurudamannil, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram recorded rainfall in the range of 30-50mm.
Rainfall across Kerala and Tamil Nadu in February-March period is unusual as they are dry months. The heavy rainfall in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala would be welcomed as the 2016 North-East monsoon was the worst in over a century. The rainfall would help in slightly improving the water levels across reservoirs.
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