India is set to wake up on March 28 to a tale of two extremes, snow and fresh rain pushing in from the northwest, while large swathes of central and southern India brace for blistering heat.
A fresh Western Disturbance is approaching northwest India from the night of March 28, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The agency has forecast fairly widespread light to moderate rain and snowfall over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, with the wet spell expected to intensify between March 29 and 31.
Isolated heavy snowfall is likely over the Kashmir valley on March 30.
Devendra Tripathi, founder of Mausam Tak and weather vlogger for Kisan Tak, says moisture support flowing in from the Arabian Sea, Oman, and even as far as the Caspian Sea will sustain the activity across northern India.
“From March 28 to April 1, there is a possibility of rain in many states,” said Devendra. He added that the disturbance would affect Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
WHAT WILL DELHI’S WEATHER BE LIKE ON MARCH 28?
Delhi has already seen a dramatic temperature drop on Friday.
Independent weather expert Navdeep Dahiya noted that fresh spells of rain across Delhi-NCR pushed temperatures down to 23 to 24 degrees Celsius, a sharp fall from the previous day’s high of 34.8 degrees Celsius.
On March 28, the IMD forecasts a partly cloudy sky over Delhi, with maximum temperatures settling between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius, returning to near-normal levels.
Another significant rain spell with gusty winds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour is expected on March 29.
WHERE WILL IT BE HOTTEST IN INDIA ON MARCH 28?
Central and south peninsular India will bear the heat on Saturday. IMD data shows temperatures reached 41.8 degrees Celsius at Akola in Maharashtra on March 27, the highest recorded in the country that day.
Devendra warned that heatwave-like conditions are likely across Central India, South Rajasthan, and parts of the peninsular region.
States including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu are expected to remain largely dry and hot.
WHAT ABOUT NORTHEAST INDIA’S WEATHER ON MARCH 28?
The northeast will see some of the country’s heaviest rainfall. The IMD has warned of scattered to fairly widespread rain with thunderstorms and gusty winds across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Sikkim through the week.
Devendra echoed this, saying medium to high rainfall is expected across the northeastern states over the coming days.
