Northwest, central and west India to record max temp 3 to 5 deg above normal

Northwest central and west India are predicted to record maximum temperatures three to five degrees above normal over the next five days the India Meteorological Department IMD said on TuesdayMany parts of the country are already recording temperatures that are usually recorded in the first week of MarchThe Met office had said Monday that significantly higherthannormal temperatures may have an adverse impact on wheat and other cropsA senior meteorologist at the IMD said temperatures in northwest India are likely to drop by two degrees Celsius over the next two days after a western disturbance affecting the western Himalayan region recedesHowever maximum temperatures are likely to remain three to five degrees above normal in the region as well as central and west India over the next five days he saidOn Monday most places in northwest central and west India logged their maximum temperatures in the range of 35 degrees Celsius to 39 degrees CelsiusDelhi on Monday recorded the third hottest February day since 1969 with the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory the national capitals primary weather station soaring to 336 degrees CelsiusThe city had recorded an alltime high of 341 degrees Celsius on February 26 2006 and a maximum temperature of 339 degrees on February 17 1993Kuldeep Srivastava head of the India Meteorological Departments IMD regional forecasting centre said the lack of strong western disturbances was the primary reason for the early heat in Delhi and other parts of northwest IndiaThe weather in northwest India is primarily regulated by western disturbances Since there has been no active western disturbance in the region since January 29 the temperatures have gone up appreciably he saidA few feeble western disturbances have led to belownormal precipitation in the hills Srivastava addedMaximum temperatures are already showing a rising trend and the mercury may soar to 40 degrees Celsius and above in one or two meteorological subdivisions of northwest India in the first half of March the scientist saidThe Met office on Sunday said isolated heatwave conditions are likely over Kutch and Konkan during the next two daysOfficials had said it was the earliest a heatwave alert was issued for these regionsAlso Read With temperatures above 37 degrees C IMD issues heatwave alert for next 2 daysHowever the IMD on Monday withdrew the heatwave warning for these regions due to sea breeze leading to a drop in temperatures the officials saidThis higher day temperature might lead to an adverse effect on wheat as the crop is approaching reproductive growth period which is sensitive to temperature the IMD saidHigh temperatures during the flowering and maturing periods leads to loss in yield There could be a similar impact on other standing crops and horticulture it saidThe IMD said farmers can go for light irrigation if the crop appears to be under stressTo reduce the impact of higher temperatures add mulch material in the space between two rows of vegetable crops to conserve soil moisture and maintain soil temperature it saidA heat wave is declared if the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains at least 37 degrees in coastal areas and at least 30 degrees in hilly regions and the departure from normal is at least 45 degreesIn March last year the warmest recorded in the country since 1901 heat caused a decline of 25 per cent in wheat yieldsThe weather department had attributed the unusual heat to the lack of rainfall due to the absence of active western disturbances over north India and any major system over south IndiaThe country as a whole had logged just 89 mm rainfall which was 71 per cent lower than its long period average of 304 mmThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever