Hyderabad/Vijayawada: Pre-monsoon rains in many parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Monday provided some respite to people from sweltering heat wave even as Skymet Weather issued an advisory for farmers against sowing of crops for next 10-15 days in view of the sluggish progress of monsoon.
Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds drenched Hyderabad and several parts of Telangana, providing relief to people reeling under heatwave conditions for last one month. Dark clouds in Hyderabad turned the weather pleasant in the late afternoon and towards evening, it rained heavily in the city and outskirts, bringing down the mercury level.
Thunderstorm with gusty winds of 30-40 km per hour lashed parts of Telangana and in neighboring Andhra Pradesh, bringing down the maximum temperature and raising hopes among farmers of favorable monsoon conditions. However, parts of Telangana continued to experience heatwave conditions. Adilabad was the hottest place with a maximum temperature of 45.5 degree Celsius.
In Hyderabad the maximum temperature was 40.2 degree Celsius, 3-4 notches lower compared to the highest mercury level over the last couple of days. According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Telugu states received the rains under the impact of upper air circulation in west central Bay of Bengal near north Andhra and south Odisha coast.
According to Skymet Weather, a private weather forecast company, coastal Andhra Pradesh saw some good pre-monsoon activity on Monday. It said the rains brought down the temperatures by about a degree or two. “Heatwave conditions have abated from the region completely for now. On the other hand, humidity saw a steep rise over the area,” it said.
The rains are expected to continue for the next four-five days. Meanwhile, Skynet also issued an advisory for farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh against sowing of crops for Kharif season for at least the next 10-15 days as monsoon onset is going to be mild and the progress is expected to be sluggish.
“Sowing of crops at this point of time, when the onset of monsoon is delayed and chances of good rains are less, will only push up the cost for farmers and also hamper the yield of the crop,” it said. Farmers growing maize, tur and cotton in the Telugu states were advised to delay the sowing of the crops till the second week of June. The reservoir levels in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are also alarmingly low with just 5 and 10 percent of water reserve respectively, it added.