A week late, it finally rains relief in Punjab

City residents desperately waiting for rain for the past week were treated to 25.8mm rain on Thursday, bringing respite from the hassling humidity.

However, the temperatures did not see much change. The day temperature on Thursday remained 36.8 degrees, two degrees above normal, against Wednesday’s 36 degrees. The minimum temperature at 29.2 degrees was also five degrees above normal, and a tad higher than Wednesday’s 28.7 degrees.

As the day progressed, the humidity level was as high as 97%, before the sky turned cloudy around 4:30pm. It then rained 20mm in the first hour till 5:30pm, and by 8:30pm, the evening saw another 5.8mm rain.

Meanwhile, the areas around Chandigarh International Airport received only 2.6mm rain.

On Friday, the maximum temperature is expected to be around 35 degrees, and the minimum temperature around 25 degrees.

‘More rain dependent on monsoon pattern’

Even as the monsoon is seeing a slow progress since its advent in the first week of July, the weatherman says more rainy days were expected ahead, but the monsoon pattern could change.

“Guidance and interpretations of different global and regional weather models indicate light to moderate rainfall is likely to continue in Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, with heavy rain expected at isolated places in the next 36 hours,” said Surender Paul, director, India Meteorological Department, Chandigarh.

“The extended range weather models indicate normal rainfall in Punjab and Haryana in the remaining part of July. But these estimates are subject to change depending upon monsoonal patterns and behaviour of global features,” he cautioned.

“For the next three days, the sky will remain cloudy, and there is possibility of rain. However, exact prediction is difficult as a slight change in cloud movement can lead to rainfall in another region,” said an officer from the Met department.

‘Weakening of easterly winds subdued rainfall’

“Rainfall activity in Punjab and Haryana remained subdued in the past 36 hours due to weakening of low level easterly winds. This was due to prevalence of anticyclone in lower middle troposphere, which inhibited maintained easterly winds’ flow in depth and northward movement of monsoon circulation,” said Paul.

“Further, absence of active Western disturbances at the upper level is another reason for subdued rains as extra tropical disturbances are responsible of recurvature of monsoon circulations north-eastwards in our region,” he said.