Mild rain again over north but no big impact on crop

After a brief lull, unseasonal rain returned over parts of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh but its intensity was much less and it was not accompanied by any strong wind or hail till Thursday evening.

“It has rained in northern Punjab, Haryana and in the foothills of the Himalayas, and also Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand since morning. These mild rains might continue for a couple of days,” said G P Sharma, vice-president at Skymet Weather Services.

He said in the next few days, good rain will fall over the Himalayan region. In the foothills, there could be mild showers.

The government's meteorological department said rain and squall might occur at one or two places in northern India, including the Himalayan foothills. Weather officials feel rain intensity won't be high and the standing wheat and mustard crop won't be hit much.

In 2015, the standing rabi crop on 19 million hectares was damaged by heavy unseasonal rain, accompanied by strong winds and hail. However, this year, the situation does not look worrisome.

R K Gupta, acting head of the Directorate of Wheat Research in Karnal had told this newspaper last week that mild rain might only help in prolonging the winter, beneficial for the standing wheat crop.

The sunshine which has followed the intermittent rains also seems to have helped the crop. India is expected to produce around 94 million tonnes of wheat in 2015-18, about eight mt more than the final production in 2014-15.