From Friday to Sunday, regions in the Western Himalayans and parts of northwestern and central India are expected to see moderate to heavy snow and rain. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) noted that this fresh rainfall could help winter crops like wheat, lentils, barley, and mustard. This will be the second round of rain this winter since late December.
According to a report from the ICAR’s Wheat and Barley Research Institute, wheat planting is nearly complete, and the right weather with enough winter rain is helping the growth of the plants. ICAR scientist Pranjit Talukdar said, “The rain in the coming days, along with recent rainfall, will improve soil moisture and provide early irrigation for wheat that is growing.”
Farmers using a canal for irrigation have been advised not to over-water their fields. The upcoming rain is especially good news for areas where wheat is grown without irrigation, covering five agricultural zones between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Wheat is grown on about 31.8 million hectares of land, producing around 113.29 million tonnes yearly. A bigger wheat harvest could help lower food prices, which had recently gone up. In November, food and drink inflation eased to 8.2% from a high of 9.69% in October.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a new weather event called a western disturbance, along with easterly winds, will affect the northwest weather. There are also several cyclonic circulations over different regions that are predicted to cause heavy rain in Peninsular India.
Mahesh Palawat, a forecaster from Skymet Weather, mentioned that there has already been rain, hail, and snow this winter. He expects the new weather event to bring rain mainly to the plains of India. Palawat also noted that after the rainfall in Rajasthan, rain is likely in Delhi, Haryana, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will also see rain and snowfall.
In December, different states saw a lot of rain, with areas like Delhi and Rajasthan recording significantly more than usual. Meanwhile, some places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and other regions have experienced heavy rain and hail. Ground frost was reported in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Many areas in northern India, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, suffered from dense fog that reduced visibility.
The cold has been severe, with temperatures dropping below 0°C in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In some areas of central India, temperatures are around 5-10°C, while east and western regions see temperatures of 10-15°C. On Wednesday, Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh recorded the coldest temperature in the plains at 1.6°C.
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