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Ludhiana | Scorching March segues into hotter-than-average April
The Ludhiana city has also witnessed a rain deficit in the first two weeks of April, “March was no different. Not only did Ludhiana see the hottest March in 52 years, but it also recorded a rain deficit of 96.6%.” PAU department of climate change and agricultural meteorology head Pavneet Kaur Kingra said
After witnessing record-setting heat in March, residents continue to swelter through “hotter-than-average” April, with the mercury remaining five to seven degrees above normal.
A study, conducted by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) department of climate change and agricultural meteorology, has found that the minimum and maximum temperatures in the first two weeks of April were five to seven degrees higher than the average temperature.
In the first week (April 2- 8), the average minimum temperature was 23.4°C, which is 5.3 degrees higher than normal (18.1°C), while the average maximum temperature was 38.2°C, around 6.6 degrees higher than normal (31.8°C).
Between April 9 and 16, the average maximum temperature rose to 39.9°C against the normal of 34.1°C, a variance of 5.8°C. The minimum temperature was 21.5°C, 4.9 degrees above normal (16.6°C).
The city has also witnessed a rain deficit in the first two weeks of April. PAU department of climate change and agricultural meteorology head Pavneet Kaur Kingra said, “The first two weeks remained hot and dry. Normally, around 9.1mm rainfall is witnessed during the first two weeks of April, but this year we did not receive any precipitation.”
“March was no different. Not only did Ludhiana see the hottest March in 52 years, but it also recorded a rain deficit of 96.6%. The city only received 0.8mm precipitation in March, while the average rainfall for the month is 23.7mm,” she added.
As per meteorological experts the weather will continue to be hot and dry throughout the month.
The meteorological department of PAU has issued an advisory asking the vegetable growers to keep watering the crops to maintain moisture of the soil.
“The present weather conditions are harsh for the crops. It is advised that farmers should seek help from PAU and agriculture department officials,” said Pavneet Kaur.
