Northwest plains likely to see dry weather this week

A Western Disturbance (WD) that dispensed isolated light showers over northwest India for greater part of the week gone by would now seclude itself to the Himalayan region. A WD is a cloud of moisture developed by evaporation over the Mediterranean or the Caspian Sea.

The current WD would also disperse by tomorrow (Tuesday) and move on to Tibet, leaving the western Himalayas dry as well. The northwest plains would witness dry weather for the whole week that would be a breather to crops in the region, giving them time to blot excess moisture away. This would be more pertinent to the wheat crop that had been gravely affected by last Sunday's thunder showers/squalls.

The eastern flank of the nation that includes Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa are likely to witness rainfall for most of the coming week. But the greater impact of any such precipitation would be felt mostly on Orissa while the adjoining regions of the eastern states would be affected as well.

The week to come also holds rainfall for south. A weak easterly is likely to influence the region's weather tomorrow onwards and scattered showers may transpire over Kerala, Karnataka and neighboring areas of Tamil Nadu. The situation is unlikely to be changed anytime soon.

A trough is also seen building up in a north-south expanse from south peninsula to east India. A trough is a length of area where winds from different directions meet. These meeting areas are usually unstable due to the moisture dumped along it carried by the winds. The trough would be responsible for rains in central India including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Telangana. The later regions are likely to get the greater share of the predicted precipitation.

Cashew crop is in nut maturity stage in Kerala, the largest producer. Operations like harvesting and drying of nuts are also being undertaken in many parts while prevalent weather is favourable as light rain will not affect them much. Light showers in the coconut growing region of Kerala would also be helpful for the plantations.

Rainfall in east India would be useful for the sugarcane in Orissa and overall paddy crop in the region. Cotton might be affected in Vidarbha due to the forecast showers as the crop is at an enhanced boll formation stage. Moong or green gram crop (that is at the germination stage) will be benefited by the showers in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha.

The author is the CEO of Skymet.