Weather office issues ‘multi-hazard warning’ of hailstorms, strong winds

NEW DELHI: The weather office has issued a “multi-hazard warning” of impending hailstorms and strong winds that can destroy crops in northern, eastern and central India in the next few days. It advised farmers to quickly harvest mature crops, use nets to shield orchards, and keep animals indoors to minimize damage.

Crop destruction would be a severe blow to farmers as they have already suffered due to poor monsoon rainfall in the past two years and severe damage to the intervening rabi crop last year, which perished under hailstorms and waterlogging.

“An intense western disturbance currently lying over Iran and the neighbourhood would affect the Indian subcontinent from 11th (March),” the India Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.

Bad weather would lead to heavy snow in parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and strong wind and hailstorms in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during March 11-13. Similar weather would prevail for two days from March 12 over Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and from March 13 in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal between, it said.

Its advisory to the farmers is: “Maintain proper drainage channels; postpone irrigation; undertake harvesting of matured crops at the earliest; keep harvested produce in a safe place; use hail nets/hail caps to protect from mechanical damage in orchards; keep animals indoor during thunderstorm/hail hours.”