Monsoon in Ludhiana: With a week left, August still 32% deficient

Against a normal of 190mm, the city has recorded just 130mm rain in August so far.

While July recorded 7% surplus rain, with eight days left, August is still 32% deficient.

A cyclist on his way against the backdrop of an overcast sky in Ludhiana on Saturday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Against the 232.8mm rainfall considered normal for July, the month saw 217mm showers.

However, against a normal of 190mm, the city has recorded just 130mm rain in August so far. Last year, Ludhiana received 331.4mm rain in the month.

During this year’s monsoon season, which began on June 1 and will continue till September 30, the city has recovered 372.4mm rainfall in all. With five weeks still left, the weather department is expecting a surplus monsoon this year.

According to Prabhjyot Kaur, head of department of climate change and agricultural meteorology, PAU, besides ground water recharge, the surplus rain was ideal for maize and paddy crops.

SHOWERS LOWER MERCURY

Meanwhile, the frequent rain spells coupled with cloud cover has added a nip in the air, providing much-needed respite from the searing heat.

“Normally, the day temperature hovers around 35 degrees Celsius during August, but the current spell of monsoon rain has brought down the mercury,” said Kaur.

On Saturday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 33.5 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 25.1 degrees Celsius.

According to the weather department, Sunday will remain cloudy with chances of rain and thunder showers at isolated places.