M A I N   N E W S

April may be a scorcher too
Mercury to stay 2-4°C higher across most of the country
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 8
As if the unusually high temperatures of March were not enough, April, too, is likely to be warmer than usual over the country, except the southern peninsula. The silver lining: the departures from normal temperatures will not be as high as in the month of March-2010, now officially the warmest month, breaking previous records at many places in the country.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that the current weather conditions and interpretation of model forecast suggest that maximum and minimum temperatures will remain 2-4°C above normal over many parts of northwest, central and east India during the next one week with “slight respite” between April 12 and 18.

According to IMD chief Ajit Tyagi, a breather for those in the northwest - Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, West Uttar Pradesh and West Rajasthan - arrived today with cloudy skies. “Temperatures have started lowering but they are likely to remain above normal in the coming week as well,” he says. The northwest normally sees maximum temperatures in the range of 32-33°C and minimum around 18°C at this time of the year but the mercury is expected to hover 3-4°C above normal.

If you are planning a summer getaway in the hills of the northwest, prepare to experience temperatures hovering 1-2°C above normal,

Causes of the heat wave and high temperature conditions in March include the extremely non-cooperative western disturbances this year. The met department says the passage of western disturbances across northern parts of J&K “did not give much weather over the northwest”. Decreased western disturbance activity led to scanty rain, snow and rise in temperatures in hills and plains of northwest and central and east India.

Aiding the grim situation was a large anti-cyclonic follow over northwest and central India that caused downward motion of warm air. The subsidence warming, when combined with lack of moisture and a practically cloudless sky, resulted in more insulation and persistently high temperatures through March.