Rain vanishes from Vidarbha as IMD set to announce end of monsoon in a day or two
Farmers already battling drought are set to lose the monsoon early, with October heat setting in across Vidarbha and fog and a chill in Sindhudurg.
It is bad news for Maharashtra's farmers, who are already battling drought. Several parts of the state have had no rain for the past month and a half. Farmers had hoped for showers in the last days of September, but the month is nearly over and there is no sign of rain. The weather department has now said plainly that there will be no rain. It is due to make the official announcement of the monsoon's end in the state in the next day or two.
The information was given by Pravin Kumar, a scientist at the weather department in Nagpur. He said rain had disappeared completely from Vidarbha and there was no prospect of rain here later either. According to Pravin Kumar, the weather department will soon announce the end of the monsoon.
The heat of "October heat" is already being felt across Vidarbha, including Nagpur. The temperature in Nagpur has neared 35 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in Amravati crossed 36 degrees Celsius. This makes it clear that the days of rain are over. Pravin Kumar has appealed to people to use their stored water carefully, as no more rain is coming.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the sun is scorching even in the monsoon season. The city's maximum temperature was 35.6 degrees Celsius for the second day running. The minimum temperature was 21.5 degrees and humidity was 44 per cent. According to the weather department's forecast, skies may be cloudy between September 30 and October 4, with a shower or two in some places. No rain alert has been issued, however.
Sindhudurg district saw dense fog and cold all over today. Rain has been absent here for 25 to 30 days, and mornings have turned cooler since yesterday. Dense fog was seen across the district today. It appears the rain is departing and a light chill is setting in. In the Konkan, the cold usually arrives in late October or early November, but this time it came in September itself, a sign of the change in the weather.
Even though the rain has left Maharashtra, 25 states across the country still face a threat. Thunderstorms with rain are forecast in 25 states, including Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Meghalaya, Assam and Jharkhand. The weather department has warned of heavy rain with lightning in some places and moderate rain in others. Strong winds are also feared in some states.
