M A I N   N E W S

Mid-day darkness in Chandigarh, snowfall in hills
n Snowfall in higher reaches of HP and J&K, untimely heavy rains in region
n High-velocity winds and hail storms announce early winter
Tribune News Service/PTI

Chandigarh, October 22
It was darkness in the late afternoon as duststorms and chilly winds lashed Chandigarh and New Delhi, heralding the arrival of an early winter. As the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir experienced the season’s first snowfall, the ripple-down effect was untimely heavy rains and hailstorm, with the temperature plummeting and people scampering for woollens in the hill states.While Srinagar remained the coldest place in J&K, with the minimum temperature recorded at 3.6 degrees C, Shimla recorded a minimum of 11.3 from yesterday’s 14.3 degrees.

Dusty winds and heavy rain also lashed the adjoining states of Punjab and Haryana, lowering the temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius at various places across the region. The temperature had remained in the normal bracket for the better part of October. The change in the weather is paving the way for winter. According to the Indian Meteorological Department in Chandigarh, the night temperature is likely to drop further in the next 24 to 48 hours.

At Ambala in Haryana, the minimum temperature dipped by three degrees to 18.6 from yesterday’s 21.8. Heavy rains, accompanied by a hailstorm, also lowered the temperature in Amritsar and Patiala in Punjab to 15.4 and 20 degrees C, respectively.

Duststorms and rains also hit the national capital, throwing traffic out of gear due to waterlogging and fallen trees in some areas. The city received six mm of showers in less than an hour till 5:30 pm, while the maximum and minimum were recorded at 33.5 and 21.8 degrees Celsius respectively.In Jammu and Kashmir, three army personnel who had laid an ambush near the LoC to check infiltration were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Uri sector of Baramulla district. A captain and two jawans were buried under the landslide while about 20 other personnel escaped unhurt. The Met Department predicted that that night temperature would fall further. Change in weather conditions was being attributed to the combined effect of weather systems (western disturbance) prevailing over Jammu and Kashmir and impacting the weather in the surrounding areas as well.

Power supply and telecommunication services were adversely affected by the inclement weather. Untimely rains and hailstorms at various places in Punjab have raised concerns of damaging the standing paddy crop, as it may lead to grain shattering and flattening. High-velocity winds have also damaged the tomato, pea and cauliflower crops mainly in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. Met officials attributed this effect to moisture-laden high-velocity south-easterly winds blowing across the region for the last three days as a result of which the difference between the minimum and maximum temperatures has shrunk..

According to the weatherman’s forecast, the sky is likely to remain cloudy tomorrow and many parts of the region might receive rains or thundershowers.