NEW DELHI: Severe hailstorms and rain accompanied by gusty winds lashed various parts of northwest and adjoining central India and western Himalayan regions on Saturday. The weather caused flattening of standing rabi crops, experts said.
A tornado reported from Punjab along with thunderstorms also lashed some parts of UP and Delhi-NCR. The IMD has issued an advisory to state governments saying the weather would continue for one more day.
However, eastern India will experience such weather events for the next couple of days. After the passing of the event, the night temperatures will dip, weather experts said. The IMD issued a red alert for J&K and Ladakh, an orange alert for northwest and central India and a yellow alert for eastern India for the next few days.
“Insane hailstorms would hit farmers more than anything else,” says Navdeep Dahiya, a weather expert.
Moderate rainfall and snowfall were reported from J&K-Ladakh-Gilgit Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and at isolated place of Arunachal Pradesh.
Two people were killed and six others injured in separate incidents as incessant rains pounded several parts of Jammu for the second day on Saturday, reports said. Snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal crippled daily life in the tribal Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts and sent 441 roads, including five national highways in the state, inaccessible.
The IMD has alerted many states about Western Disturbance that would cause extreme weather events.