Heavy rains lash Punjab, Haryana; may hurt wheat crop

Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh received heavy rains today even as the widespread showers may hurt the overall yield of the wheat crop in the region.
The widespread downpour plummeted the minimum temperature by several notches below normal in the region.
Chandigarh received heavy rains throughout the day (30mm) and the maximum temperature here dropped by eight degrees Celsius below normal to settle at 17.4 deg C, MeT office here said.
The maximum temperature at Ambala settled at 18.5 deg C, five notches below normal after 17 mm of rain during the day while Bhiwani's high temperature settled at 18.2 deg C, down four degrees after moderate rains.

Karnal was the coldest at 15.6 deg C maximum, seven notches below normal after receiving a heavy downpour (19 mm).
Amritsar in Punjab also received rainfall and the maximum settled at 19.6 deg C, down three notches.

Ludhiana's high temperature settled at 20.5 deg C, down one notch after 6 mm of rain during the day while Patiala, which was also lashed by rains, experienced a cold day at 17.4 deg C, down six notches.
The minimum temperature too fell sharply in most parts of Punjab and Haryana today as rains have been lashing the region since yesterday.
According to a MeT official here, the current change in weather was due to a Western Disturbance which was active over the region.

The MeT forecast said that light to moderate rains or thunder showers would occur at a few places in the two states until tomorrow while hailstorms may also occur at isolated places.
Meanwhile, the widespread untimely showers may hurt the overall yield of the wheat in Punjab and Haryana, the Karnal-based Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR) said today.
"Rain at this stage is not desirable... It is not good for the wheat crop at all. We require dry and sunny weather for grain formation, but consistent rain could impact overall crop productivity," DWR Project Director Indu Sharma said.
Major foodgrain-growing states Punjab and Haryana have 38 lakh and 25 lakh hectares respectively of land under wheat cultivation in the current Rabi season.