This March in Ludhiana was hotter, drier than normal

The average temperature in March is normally 26.7°C, but this year, it was 29.5°C – a departure of 2.8 degrees

The district witnessed hotter than normal temperatures through March, while the month was also 70% rain deficient, according to the meteorology department at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

A farmer tending to his field on a sunny Friday at PAU in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

As per the data shared by PAU’s department of climate change and agricultural meteorology, the average temperature in March is normally 26.7°C, but this year, it was 29.5°C – a departure of 2.8 degrees.

Even the minimum temperature remained three notches higher than the average temperature expected in March. “Against the average of 11.9°C, this year the night temperature in March was 14.9°C on an average. Even February remained 2.7°C hotter, as compared to last year,” said Prabhjyot Kaur Sidhu, head of the department.

She added that the temperature was expected to rise further in the coming days, which will also see high-velocity winds sweeping the region.

On the precipitation front, the department’s data revealed that normally March saw 23.6mm rain, but this year the city received merely 5mm showers in the month – a deficit of 70%.

The department had expected 4.7mm rain in the last week of March, but the city did not receive a single drop of rain. February was also rain-deficient, with only 17mm rain against the average of 34mm recorded in the month.