Mar 20, 2023
By: BI India BureauThis March, several parts of the country have been impacted with erratic environmental changes including early monsoon, hailstorms and strong winds. This was right after an unusually hot February.
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Heavy rainfall has been recorded in Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu in the past 24 hours. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy to light showers till March 22 for central, west India and south peninsula. It also predicted that Delhi, Rajasthan and UP might see rainfall with thunderstorms and hailstorms.
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Sudden rains along with gusty winds, hailstorm have hit several districts across the north, west, central and southern parts of the country in March putting ready-to-harvest rabi crops like wheat and mustard at risk.
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The IMD issued an orange alert for Delhi this week from March 20 urging people to be prepared for intense weather activity that could bring heavy rain and hail. An orange alert is a warning to authorities to be prepared for any emergency situation that may arise due to weather.
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IMD issued a yellow alert for most states of India for the next couple of days, with an orange alert for north-eastern states. North India is expected to observe isolated rainfall till March 25-26, said IMD scientist Dr Sen Roy.
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Reports say that from March 1-19, Hyderabad has received 51.9 mm of rainfall, which is almost three times the normal mark of 17.5 mm — breaking all the records for March in the past decade.
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In March, several parts of the country witnessed unseasonal rains and hailstorms with Maharashtra’s Marathwada region being the worst affected, registering five deaths in the last few days.
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At least six districts of Marathwada reported crop losses on more than 62,000 hectares of land due to unseasonal rainfall in just five days, last week.
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At least three people including a four-month-old baby were killed while four others were injured in separate incidents after a devastating thunderstorm accompanied by gusty surface wind and lightning hit several parts of Odisha on March 18, Saturday, according to reports.
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