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A fresh western disturbance, a back-to-back system with enough firepower to launch an induced cyclone circulation, much like the last such disturbance a few days ago, is forecast to call in over the hills of North-West India in two days’ time (by Saturday).
As if on cue, the current western disturbance and its offspring circulation have weakened, clearing up the western parts of North-West and West India (parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Madhya Pradesh). No two low-pressure systems can remain active at a given time in the normal scheme of things.
However, satellite maps this morning show clouding over East India, eastern parts of Central India as well as parts of Peninsular India as the pre-existing western disturbance has left behind a trail.
In this manner, clouds hung over an area extending from Himachal Pradesh (Manali and neighbourhood); Uttar Pradesh (Bareilly, Kanpur, Faizabad, and Prayagraj); Bihar (Patna and Purnia); Jharkhand (Dhanbad); Chhattisgarh (Korba and Raipur); Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur); Maharashtra (Jalgaon, Akola, Nagpur, Nanded, and Sholapur); Andhra Pradesh (Nellore); Karnataka (Ballari, Hubballi, Bengaluru and Mangaluru); Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore and Tirunelveli); and Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi).
A Chennai Metro train crossing the Adyar river at Saidapet. - Photo: Bijoy Ghosh
In line with the pattern associated with the arrival of a moisture-laden western disturbance, night temperatures have begun to look up over North-West India while they have dipped over East India from where a prevailing western disturbance is moving away and out of the country (see table showing temperature and weather outlook for major cities), taking away the associated warmth.
This morning dense fog enveloped isolated pockets in West Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana as the peak fog season (mid-December to mid-January) enters its last stage. Visibility was reduced to as little as 25 metres in Amritsar; 50 metres each in Chandigarh, Ganganagar, Hissar and Churu; and 200 metres in Dehradun.
On Wednesday, the highest temperature, at 35.5 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Kottayam in Kerala and the lowest, at 7.5 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Fatehgarh (East Uttar Pradesh), an IMD bulletin said.
IMD forecast
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on Sunday (January 12) and over Himachal Pradesh on Monday, as the offspring circulation of the western disturbance firms up its grip over regional weather.
Isolated thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by hailstorms have been forecast for the hills of North-West India on Monday, and for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and West Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, as a limb of the active western disturbance digs deep into the North Arabian Sea, with associated south-westerly winds fanning in the moisture.
Kolkata woke up to a hazy sky on Thursday. A view from the eastern metropolitan bypass. - Photo: Debasish Bhaduri
The clouds hanging over East and East-Central India left behind on the trail of the preceding western disturbance may trigger isolated thunderstorms, lightning and hailstorms over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, and Chhattisgarh until tomorrow (Friday); and isolated thunderstorms and lightning over Bihar, Jharkhand, plains of Bengal, and Odisha during the same period.
Kolkata woke up to a hazy sky on Thursday. A view from the eastern metropolitan bypass. - Photo: Debasish Bhaduri
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