Rainfall in North India
The first two weeks of the month were among the hottest, and the second half of the month was the coldest in the past 73 years.
March 2023 has seen a drastic change in temperatures compared to the past averages.
Weather in India
The maximum weather in India is 30.35 degree Celsius, according to the IMD data report. This is 0.96 degrees below the 1981-2010 average for this interval, considered to be normal by the IMD, and the 12th coolest since 1951, the first year for which IMD has gridded data. This is the polar opposite of the maximum readings in February, which was the 13th warmest since 1951.
The record-breaking cold in the third week of March was caused by several factors that worked in tandem. According to an IMD, these were two active western disturbances, cyclonic circulations over Rajasthan, a trough or region of low pressure in southern parts of peninsular India and east central India, westerly winds of speed 120-200 kilometres per hour sometimes in the upper troposphere, and moisture from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea due to anti-cyclonic circulation there.
Ending March on a stormy note
Parts of north India are set to end the month of march on a stormy note. The weather is expected to impact the region within the next 48 hours.
The northern states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are quite likely to see scattered to very widespread rainfall and thunderstorms from Thursday through Saturday (March 30 to April 1).
During this three-day prediction period, these circumstances will also affect the neighbouring hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Throughout the next 48 hours, isolated areas around the region can expect rain, hailstorms, and strong gusts of 30 to 40 kmph.
Inconveniences like crop damage, traffic jams, and other annoyances are likely to result from the unpredictability of the weather, but the rain will also have the effect of cooling the area by lowering daytime temperatures by 2 to 40 degrees Celsius.
