Weather report: Wet weekend ahead for northern states while south India heats up

The heat is expediting quickly this year; summers have been really harsh so far in the southern states of India as pre-monsoon rains are delayed this time.

In the month of April, coastal areas in the country, especially in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, experience peak summer temperatures. Also, pre-monsoon rains kick in during the evening hours. However, this year’s first week of April has been largely dry and extremely hot for the region.

Bengaluru reported the hottest day of the season on Saturday as the maximum temperature soared to 37.6°C. On Thursday and Friday, temperatures climbed to 37°C, respectively. The average weekly maximum temperature during the first week stands at 36.7°C, way higher than 35.9°C that occurred during the summer of 2016.

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Saturday so far has turned out to be the hottest day of the summer season so far in India, as Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 44.5 °C.

Many more stations in Andhra Pradesh reported 43°C+ maximum temperatures over the weekend:

Anantapur: 44.4°C
Kurnool: 44.3°C
Nandigama: 43.6°C
Rentachintala: 43.5°C

The heat has also wrapped up in east and west India over the past week, as widespread areas saw 40°C+ temperatures from April 3rd to April 6th.

On Friday, the Bhubaneswar capital of Odisha recorded a maximum temperature of 43.5 °C.

Some other stations in the region with sizzling hot conditions:

Solapur: 43.1°C
Jharsuguda: 42.0°C
Purulia: 41.5°C
Raipur: 41.4°C

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Hot weather has started to grip north India as well; temperatures are in the range of 34 to 37°C in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi NCR; perhaps it has started crossing the 40°C mark in certain parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Maximum temperature reported from Uttar Pradesh on April 4th, the warmest state currently in the plains of north India:

Prayagraj: 41.2°C
Siddharth Nagar: 40.9°C
Varanasi: 40.6°C
Sultanpur: 40.4°C
Ghazipur: 40.4°C
Bahraich: 40.2°C
Bhadohi: 40.1°C
Gorakhpur: 39.5°C
Fursatganj: 39.3°C
Kanpur IAF: 39.3°C
Agra: 39.1°C
Ballia: 39.0°C
Orai: 38.6°C
Hamirpur: 38.2°C
Lucknow: 38.0°C

Except for some localised rains in parts of east and north-east India, it has been fairly dry weather across the country from April 1st to April 7th.

Let’s take a look at the seasonal rainfall in India categorised in the pre-monsoon season till 7th April. The pan-India actual rainfall so far in the period of 1st March till 7th April stands at 32.6mm against the normal of 37.9mm; the departure from normal currently stands at -14 per cent; the rainfall deficiency has increased by 9 per cent week over week.

Subdivision-wise pre-monsoon seasonal rainfall from March 1 to April 7, 2024:

* Southern peninsula: Actual 3.8 mm against the average of 21.0 mm, -82 per cent departure from normal.
* East and northeast India: Actual 75.7 mm against the average of 84.4 mm, a -10 per cent departure from normal.
* Northwest India: Actual 46.9 mm against the average of 55.5 mm, a 16 per cent departure from normal.
* Central India: Actual 16.0 mm against the average of 9.6 mm, +67 per cent departure from normal.

Current synoptic weather features influencing weather in India on April 7, 2024:

* A western disturbance over northwest Uttar Pradesh at 3.1 km above mean sea level, with the trough aloft in the middle and upper tropospheric westerlies and its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level, roughly along long. 73°E to the north of lat. 28°N, persists.
* A trough/wind discontinuity from interior Odisha to north Tamil Nadu across Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Marathwada, and interior Karnataka, extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, persists.
* A cyclonic circulation over east Assam and the neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level persists.
* A cyclonic circulation over southeast Rajasthan and the surrounding neighbourhood, extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, persists.
* A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region on April 10, 2024.
* Another fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India on April 13, 2024.

All India weather forecast till April 14, 2024:

A trough as a pattern of wind discontinuity is present over central and eastern parts of India. As a result, rainy afternoons and evenings are expected in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Maharashtra from April 8th to April 12th. Scattered thunderstorms, gusty winds, and hailstorms are expected, along with a fall in maximum temperature.

Summer temperatures are going to be restricted in the upcoming week due to cloudy and rainy weather.

East India is heading to experience wet days this week, but western and southern parts of India will not see any relief from the heat as rain is not anticipated until April 14th.

Maximum temperatures will continue in the range of 38 to 44°C in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and parts of northern Karnataka.

Goa, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu observe day highs in the range of 34 to 39°C.

As the wind discontinuity expands, pre-monsoon rains will make an entry in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala starting on April 11 and lasting into the weekend.

Wet weekend ahead for the northern states:

The upcoming week starting on April 8 will start on a warm note across Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, as maximum temperatures are predicted in the range of 35 to 41°C until April 13. Perhaps hot afternoons might not last longer due to the approaching western disturbance over the weekend.

Jet streams have once again started dipping southwards, and it would cause back-to-back western disturbances in north India for the next two to three weeks, starting on Saturday, when an active western disturbance will hit the western Himalayas paired with the combination of moist south-west winds from the Arabian Sea and inland heating that will trigger stormy weather across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi NCR, and Uttar Pradesh on April 13 and 14.

Activities such as strong winds, moderate to heavy rains, thunderstorms, and hail storms will bring down the soaring temperatures, and north India’s core summer onset is expected to be halted for another three weeks as above-normal rainy days and below-normal temperatures are predicted for the rest of April, starting on April 13.

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.