E-Paper
Finally, light rain, winds bring respite from scorching heat in Chandigarh
Panchkula records 0.5 rain, Chandigarh less than 0.1 mm, but cool winds in the evening bring cheer to residents
In a double treat for tricity residents, the long weekend started on a cool note, as cloudy weather and cool winds made their way to the region.
Residents of Panchkula were also greeted by a drizzle on Thursday morning and weather conditions eventually became rife for showers in Chandigarh as well, but only trace rainfall (less than 0.1mm) was recorded at the Sector 39 observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In some respite, the cool winds helped the temperature drop by 8.4°C between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm. However, the pleasant weather will be over with the long weekend, as the day temperature is expected to cross 40°C again by Monday.
With day remaining sunny for the most part, the maximum temperature increased from 38°C on Wednesday to 38.9°C on Thursday, 4.4 degrees above normal.
But as gusty winds up to 40km per hour started blowing in the evening, the temperature dropped from 36°C at 5.30 pm to 27.6°C at 8.30 pm at IMD’s Sector 39 observatory. For comparison, at 8.30 pm, the temperature was 30.6°C on Wednesday, 32.1°C on Tuesday and 31.2°C on Monday.
In Panchkula, 0.5 mm rain was recorded till 8.30 am, a first since the 4 mm rain on February 26.
“Even though there was little to no rain in Chandigarh, it rained in Panchkula and adjoining hilly areas. Eventually, cool winds from there helped cool down Chandigarh. The currently active western disturbance is likely to pass by Friday, which will lead to another dry spell,” said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD, Chandigarh.
Chandigarh’s minimum temperature also went down from 25.7°C on Wednesday to 22.8°C on Thursday, but was still 4.5 notches above normal. It is expected to remain around 22°C over the weekend, while the maximum temperature will remain between 38°C and 39°C.
Below normal monsoon on the cards
According to the Long-Range Forecast for the monsoon issued by IMD, Chandigarh is expected to witness a normal to below normal monsoon this year.
Speaking about this, Singh said, “As per the forecast, there are pockets in Punjab and Haryana where below normal monsoon is expected and Chandigarh is likely to be one of them. A detailed forecast will be issued in the last week of May.”
Last year also the monsoon was 29% below normal, with the city recording a total of 600.2 mm rain, compared to the average normal of 846.5 mm.
