Shillong, May 3: A ‘Yellow’ alert has been issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for five states in northern India, indicating that rainfall is expected in some areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
Strong western disturbances across north India have caused hailstorms and rains in Himachal Pradesh’s plains and hills.
The IMD reports that a major dip in mercury has been caused by two Western disturbances, a cyclonic circulation across Haryana and an induced cyclonic circulation over northwest Rajasthan.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday settled at 28.3 degrees Celsius, 11 degrees below average, a day after many areas of the city were battered by heavy rain. 19.3 degrees Celsius was the minimum temperature that was recorded.
The weather system also had an impact in Chandigarh, which recorded the coldest May in the previous 36 years with a decrease of over 10 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh’s typical May average temperature remains around 40 degrees Celsius. Mercury reached a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius on April 17, but on Sunday it dipped to 30.9 degrees Celsius.
On Monday, further rain brought the temperature down to 25.7 degrees Celsius.
A chill in the air and good weather with a reduction in temperature have been seen in neighbouring states, including Punjab and Haryana, even during the day.
The IMD official said that after May 14 temperatures will start to rise and that several locations will likely experience scorching conditions.