Chandigarh, October 22
Overnight rain in several areas of the region has marked the onset of an early winter while it will hamper the harvesting of paddy and cotton in rain-hit areas of Punjab and Haryana. Officials in the Agriculture Department of Punjab admitted that there would be delay in harvesting the standing crop in rain-hit areas.
Officials explained that due to Divali there had been less arrival of grain in various mandis hence the chances of rain damaging harvested crop were minimal in the past two days.
Fears about a rise in moisture-level in paddy will be allayed once the clouds give away. However, harvesting will not be carried out under overcast conditions as this can add to the moisture-level. The Central procurement agencies are very strict and have laid down strict parameters on the moisture level and on damaged or dis-coloured grain. This means paddy harvesting will be set back by three to four days while picking of cotton will be delayed by two days in the rain-hit areas. About 75 per cent of paddy has already been harvested though a few late-sown varieties remain to be harvested.
Meanwhile, the snow in the upper reaches of the Himalayas and rain in the plains of Punjab and Haryana have brought down temperatures signalling a change in season. Amritsar was the coldest place in the plains as the minimum temperature dropped to 14.5°C while most other places in the region also experienced a chilly night.
Ludhiana was colder by two degrees than normal at 14.6°C, while Patiala recorded a low of 18°C, the Meteorological Department said here. Chandigarh residents woke up to a cloudy sky today and experienced the chill during the night as the minimum temperature dropped to 15.2°C, a degree below normal.
Ambala and Karnal in Haryana also registered below normal minimum temperatures at 17.8°C and 17.6°C, respectively.
Delhi and Hisar recorded
Shimla received light showers and the low temperature there dropped to 9.4°C. Residents of Sundernagar, Kulu and Dharmshala also experienced a cold night.The Met office forecasts a moderate to rather heavy rain or snow at many places in Himachal Pradesh while light to moderate rain or thundershowers have been forecast at a few places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh over the next two days.
Met officials said the current change in weather was due to western disturbances over J&K and its neighbourhood while an upper air cyclonic circulation was recorded over central Pakistan. Yet another weather system was active over North Punjab and South Rajasthan, they said.
