Weather report | Heatwave to come back in east, central India; long-awaited pre-monsoon rains hit Karnataka, Kerala

Summer storms in east and central India have brought a significant cooldown to the region, and temperatures have plummeted significantly last week.

A wind discontinuity powered by easterly waves and a western disturbance has brought widespread rainfall and hailstorms to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Karnataka across the past week.

Good rainfall figures recorded in Madhya Pradesh in the span of 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on April 13:

Nusrulgunj (Sehore): 56 mm

Lateri (Vidisha): 34 mm

Berasia (Bhopal): 26 mm

Kesli (Sagar): 25 mm

Dewas: 24 mm

Raisen: 24 mm

Sausar (Chhindwara): 22 mm

Kumbhraj (Guna): 20 mm

Narmadapuram: 16 mm

Kusmi (Sidhi): 15 mm

Khargone: 14 mm

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Ujjain: 8 mm

On Friday, cloudy and rainy weather broke all-time records for the lowest day temperatures in the month of April in several Odisha cities.  

The long-awaited pre-monsoon rains have started in parts of Karnataka and Kerala in the past week, except in the south interior of Karnataka, including Bangalore, which is still waiting for the first spell of pre-monsoon showers.

Rainfall ending 8:30 am on April 14, in north and interiors of Karnataka:

Shivamogga: 79.5 mm

Uttara Kannada: 68 mm

Kalaburagi: 67 mm

Udupi: 64 mm

Vijayapura: 57 mm

Yadagiri: 55 mm

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Chitradurga: 54.5 mm

Dharwad: 52.5 mm

Raichuru: 45 mm

Dakshina Kannadam: 38.5 mm

Haveri: 37 mm

Davanagere: 35.5 mm

Gadag: 29 mm

Koppala: 27 mm

Hassan: 19.5 mm

Bagalakote: 18.5 mm

Belagavi: 18 mm

Bidar: 17.5 mm

Herejamburu: 79.5 mm

Chavadalli: 68 mm

Ballurgi: 67 mm

Mala: 64 mm

Chitturu: 63 mm

Haranal: 57 mm

Malla: 55 mm

Sasvihalli: 54.5 mm

Bedkani: 53.5 mm

North and west India experienced hot weather conditions in the past week as temperatures crossed the 40°C mark at a lot of places in Rajasthan and Gujarat, while it was reported in the range of 35°C to 40°C in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Haryana.

Maximum Temperatures on April 11, 2024, in Delhi NCR and Haryana:

Delhi Ayanagar: 39.2°C

Delhi Safdarjung: 39.0°C

Delhi Airport: 38.5°C

Delhi Ridge: 38.2°C

Delhi Lodhi Road: 38.0°C

Hisar: 37.4°C

Bhiwani: 36.2°C

Rohtak:  36.1°C

Rajasthan

Barmer: 42.2°C

Jodhpur: 41.2°C

Jaisalmer: 41.0°C

Bikaner: 40.3°C

Before it gets too hot, western disturbances approached for a rescue over the weekend. Dust storms and rains have occurred over various parts of Delhi NCR, Haryana, and Rajasthan starting Saturday evening into Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon, Safdarjung observatory reported 39.3°C around 3 PM, then took a significant drop to 23°C at 6 PM amid the season’s first dust storm, and intense rains occurred in the south and central parts of Delhi, bringing relief from hot weather conditions.

Rainfall ending 8:30 am on April 14,  in north-west India:

Bikaner: 18 mm

Delhi Airport: 10 mm

Ajmer: 7 mm

Jhansi: 7 mm

Patiala: 5 mm

Jodhpur: 4 mm

Ganganagar: 3 mm

New Delhi: 3 mm

Churu: 2 mm

Parts of the Himalayas have also experienced rain and fresh snowfall over the weekend under the influence of western disturbances.

Banihal: 28 mm

Qazigund: 15 mm

Srinagar: 15 mm

Gulmarg: 8 mm

Manali: 7 mm

Bhuntar: 2 mm

Dharamshala: 1 mm

A cooler Sunday was observed over many hill stations. Manali in Himachal Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 11.7 °C, which is 10° below normal for mid-April.

Peo: 15.5°C

Bhuntar: 16.6°C

Shimla: 18.8°C

Mandi: 20.2°C

Gulmarg: 4.4°C

Sonamarg: 6.3°C

Pahalgam: 10.6°C

Srinagar: 11.5°C

Qazi Gund: 12.0°C

Banihal: 14.4°C

Let’s take a look at the seasonal rainfall in India, categorised in the pre-monsoon season until April 14. The pan-India actual rainfall so far in the period of March 1 until April 14 stands at 38.8mm against the normal of 46.1mm; the departure from normal currently stands at -16 per cent, the rainfall deficiency has increased by 2 per cent week over week.

Subdivision-wise pre-monsoon seasonal rainfall during March 1 till April 14, 2024:

Southern peninsula: Actual 8.6 mm against the average of 28.1 mm, -69 per cent departure from normal.

East and northeast India: Actual 82.0 mm against the average of 109.5 mm, -25 per cent departure from normal.

Northwest India: Actual 50.1 mm against the average of 62.7 mm, -20 per cent departure from normal.

Central India: Actual 25.7 mm against the average of 11.4 mm, +126 per cent departure from normal.

Current synoptic weather features influencing weather in India as of April 14, 2024:

• The western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation over Afghanistan and adjoining east Iran now lies over northeast Iran and a neighbourhood between 3.1 and 12.6 km above mean sea level, with an embedded trough in mid- and upper tropospheric westerlies with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level roughly along Long. 55°E to the north of Lat. 26°N.

• The induced low pressure area over southwest Rajasthan and the surrounding neighbourhood, with the associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, persists.

• A cyclonic circulation lies over northeast Rajasthan and the neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

• The east-west trough now runs from the above cyclonic circulation to Gangetic West Bengal across south Uttar Pradesh, south Bihar, and north Jharkhand at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

• A cyclonic circulation lies over north Bangladesh and the neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

• A cyclonic circulation lies over central Madhya Maharashtra and the neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

• The cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level persists.

• The trough/wind discontinuity now runs from the above cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area to North Interior Karnataka across Tamil Nadu and South Interior Karnataka at 0.9 km above mean sea level.

• A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India on April 18, 2024.

• The cyclonic circulation over central Assam and the neighbourhood, extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, has become less marked.

• The cyclonic circulation over northeast Assam and the neighbourhood at 3.1 km above mean sea level has become less marked.

All India weather forecasts till April 21, 2024

Western disturbance will continue to impact northwest India until Tuesday morning. As a result, the upcoming week will begin on a cold and wet note for most parts of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as temperatures will remain below normal and moderate rains are expected over most parts, along with fresh snowfall over higher reaches.

In the plains, Punjab, Chandigarh, and parts of north Haryana will experience thunderstorms accompanied by strong winds and moderate to heavy rains on Monday. Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar will witness dry weather conditions as the impact of the weather system shifts north.

Weather conditions will remain pleasant until Tuesday as temperatures will remain below normal. As the western disturbance moves away, day and night temperatures will rise by 3 to 4°C from Wednesday until Friday. From Saturday onwards, another western disturbance will bring down the temperature along with sporadic rains.

Heatwave to regenerate in east and central India

The rain pattern will subside this week as wind discontinuity weakens. The country’s heartland will experience clear weather conditions in the upcoming week. Dry conditions will lead to the warming up of air mass immediately, starting Monday onwards. Once the temperature soars, a heatwave is expected to develop in some places over Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and West Bengal from April 17th onwards, as maximum temperatures are expected to cross 42°C in some stations.

Areas in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, or the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra might hita maximum temperature of 45°C by the next weekend, ensuring a strong comeback of heatwaves in India.

Southern India to experience pre-monsoon rains

The long-awaited pre-monsoon rains are finally showing up in some parts of the peninsula. Over the upcoming week, especially from April 18th to April 22nd, fairly widespread pre-monsoon rains and thundershowers are predicted in Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and the interiors of Tamil Nadu.

Bangalore will experience its first spell of rain on Wednesday, which might continue for a couple of days.

Pre-monsoon rains generally occur in late afternoon and evening hours after hot and scorching afternoons since these are based on convective clouds. The evening showers are scattered to fairly widespread in nature depending on moisture support and are capable of bringing down temperatures and offering pleasant weather during the evenings and night after rains.

The writer, better known as the Rohtak Weatherman, interprets and explains complex weather patterns. His impact-based forecasts @navdeepdahiya55 are very popular in north India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.