The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday warned of widespread thunderstorms with gusty winds over several parts of northwest India in the next four to five days as the annual southwest monsoon advances over most parts of the country.
“In association with western disturbances, rainfall along with thunderstorm and gusty wind is likely over northwest India for the next 4-5 days,” the IMD said in its evening bulletin.
A western disturbance (WD) has developed into an upper air cyclonic circulation over Jammu and Kashmir at lower tropospheric levels, the IMD said. A similar formation has been spotted over north Afghanistan and its neighbourhood in lower and middle tropospheric levels, while another upper air cyclonic circulation lies over south Punjab and its neighbourhood in lower tropospheric levels, the weather department warned.
According to the Met department, an upper air cyclonic circulation currently lies over west Rajasthan and another over the northern parts of central Uttar Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels. Under the influence of these systems, scattered to fairly widespread light-to-moderate rainfall, accompanied with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds speed reaching 40-50 kmph, is likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana Chandigarh and Delhi.
Isolated to scattered rainfall is expected over Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan till June 2, with wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph over Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on May 30, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, East Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh on May 31 and June 1, respectively.
Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad on May 30 and 31; Himachal Pradesh on May 31 and June 1, Uttarakhand during May 30 to June 2. Dust storms are also likely to occur at isolated places over West Rajasthan on May 30.
HT had reported that May has been unusual for northwest India, particularly because of the persistence of slow-moving western disturbances over the region. WDs are cyclones originating in the Mediterranean Sea which move east and bring winter rain to NW India. The impact of WDs is felt normally during December, January and February but this year they have been active till late May. Normally, the persistence of WDs is unfavourable for the monsoon, according to experts.
“Yes, WDs are persisting till summer this year. Monsoon has not progressed to NW India yet and hence we cannot say whether it will interact with these WDs. One of the main reasons we are seeing sudden, intense thunderstorm activity over NW India is the unusual persistence of these WDs,” M Mohapatra, director general of IMD, had said on Tuesday. The normal date for monsoon onset over Delhi is June 27.
Meanwhile, monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, parts of north Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of northeastern states and some parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and entire Sikkim on Thursday. The northern limit of monsoon continues to pass through Mumbai, Ahilyanagar, Adilabad, Bhawanipatna, Puri, Sandhead Island and Balurghat.
Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon over some more parts of West Bengal and Bihar over the next one or two days, the IMD said.
On Wednesday, thunderstorms accompanied with winds gusting at 40-80 kmph prevailed at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Assam, Meghalaya, east Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttarakhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Konkan and Goa, Mizoram, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Punjab.