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Light rains lash Ludhiana, more likely for 2 days
The city on Tuesday recorded light showers and weatherman said more rain was likely over the next two days.
The city on Tuesday recorded light showers and weatherman said more rain was likely over the next two days.
According to the weather observatory at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the city recorded 14.4 mm rain till 5.30 pm.
The university’s observatory at Sahnewal pegged the rain at 33 mm.
The early rainfall in September comes after an August that saw the highest rainfall for the month since 2019.
In August, the city recorded 239.9 mm rain against a normal of 190.3 mm. Contrastingly, the city had reeled under the hottest and driest July in five years, with a mere 134.2 mm rain against a normal of 220 mm.
Weather experts said that since the monsoon was deficient initially, there were chances that September will see above-normal rain. They added that this last happened in 2011.
Sompal Singh from the PAU’s department of agricultural meteorology said, “We have noticed a trend that if monsoon is deficient in July, it tends to make up for it with heavy rains in September. September 2011 recorded 327 mm rain.”
He said light to moderate rain was likely in the coming two days.
Experts caution paddy growers
While the situation as it is at the moment does not pose a threat to the standing paddy crop, experts said that if the coming weeks see heavy and consistent rain, it may lead to problems for the crop.
PAU paddy expert Buta Singh Dhillon said, “At present, we don’t see any problem with the rain in the last few days. A little rain every few days is not a problem.”
“However, if the intensity and consistency of the rain increase, it may lead to problems such as discolouration and fungal diseases,” he added.
He pointed out that since most of the crop had not yet reached the seeding stage, fear of lodging was not in the picture.
The rain also led to waterlogging in various areas in the city.
Haibowal, Samrala Chowk, Sherpur Chowk, Jamalpur, Jalandhar Bypass, BRS Nagar, Dugri and Dhandran Road were among the worst-hit.
Municipal corporation (MC) superintendent engineer Ravinder Garg said, “We have deputed suction machines to clear waterlogging from the affected areas.”
