An incoming western disturbance traced on Monday morning to over Iran and Afghanistan has intensified into a low-pressure area and is now able to influence weather far downstream to the East over North-West India.
The ‘low’ in the westerlies has already been causing widespread rainfall over the eastern parts of Iran, almost entire Afghanistan and just across the border into Pakistan.
Induced circulation
The affected area extended from Torbat-Birjand in East Iran; Herat-Anar Dara and Kandahar-Kabul stretches in Afghanistan; and Peshawar-Bannu-Wana in Pakistan. The disturbance has set up an induced cyclonic circulation over South Pakistan, which is amplifying the unstable weather over the hills and plains of North-West India.
A trough linking central parts of Rajasthan with a cyclonic circulation over North Madhya Maharashtra too has been instrumental in kicking up some violent weather over this part of North-West India.
Low-level clouds spread out over Rajasamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Banswara in Rajasthan, and Mandsaur, Ratlam, Ujjain, Indore and Guna in Madhya Pradesh.
Thunderstorms seen
The cloud cover prevented the mercury from exploring to new peak over the region, even as the India Met Department (IMD) has forecast the possibility of thunderstorms in the region for the next three to four days.
The approaching western disturbance would cause isolated to scattered precipitation over the hills of the Western Himalayan region and adjoining plains on Tuesday and Thursday. Fairly widespread precipitation with isolated thunderstorm accompanied by hailstorm has been forecast over Jammu & Kashmir and Himacha Pradesh on Wednesday.
Dust-raising winds (Aandhi) would swirl into the air over Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday and over Rajasthan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Towards the South, cyclonic circulation over South-East Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast persisted.
Spread out in South
A trough linking this with North Interior Karnataka across Kerala and South Interior Karnataka is responsible for the local weather.
At 6 pm on Monday, rain clouds over Lakshadweep had thinned out, but persisted over most of Kerala and across adjoining hills bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They hung over Haveri, Shivamogga, Bhadravati, Chickmagalur, Tiptur, Hassan and Madikeri into the Nagerhole National Park in Karnataka; Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala; and Coimbatore to Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu.