![Ground Frost]()
![Ground Frost]()
Since last many days, many parts of Northwest India, which includes states like
Punjab and
Haryana, are reeling under cold day conditions. But the major brunt of this cold weather is shared by the crops, vegetables and fruits which are seeing damage on a large scale.
The successive western disturbances are giving snowfall over the hills of North India. Along with snowfall the winds from northwest direction are not allowing the maximum temperatures to rise, resulting in cold day conditions over Punjab and Haryana.
In Punjab and Haryana, 1-2% of the early sown crops like Wheat and Mustard have been damaged due to weather related issues. The intense cold weather is favorable for the wheat crop which is late sown (November-December), as it helps in higher yield. But persisting cold weather with fog is impacting vegetables and fruits adversely. If fog prevails for a longer period of time then it may have more impact on the crop as fog restricts solar radiation or photosynthesis which is necessary to achieve high yield.
If dense fog and mist continue to occur for some more days then it can cause diseases like late blight on potato crop. Early sown Potato, i.e. Potato crop sown in the first week of October has not borne any damages as of now, as the plants at this moment are already matured. Crops sown in later half of November-December are the ones that are damaged. Generally crops sown in November-December are in full vegetative stage at this time of the year. It is expected that nearly 5-10% of crops are damaged.
This damage of crops can be attributed to the show of frost. Due to sudden drop in temperatures, the dew on the ground freezes and forms a thin layer of ice known as frost. This frost doesn’t allow the plant to photosynthesise and plant turns pale or brown. This situation is also called
Cold Burning. Such damage is usually seen in plants like Potato, Peas, Tomatoes and Capsicum.
In
Kaithal district of Haryana, a whopping 5-10% of mustard plants have caught rust because of extreme cold conditions due to which plant leaves turn yellow or brown in colour.
Coincidentally, no damage has been recorded for the crops in
Chandigarh as layer of fog post good showers has saved the crops from frost. As Dr. Beer Pal Singh ex-director of CPRI (Central Potato Research Institute) said, “Persistence of fog over a region post good winter rains is good for the crops as it creates a thin layer over the crops that saves it from the frost.”
In coming days, due to approaching western disturbances, minimum temperatures across North India are likely to rise which will reduce the chances of frost formation in Punjab, Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh. Due to cloudy sky and change in wind direction minimum temperatures are expected to rise till January 28.
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As of today morning, the Indian base research camp in Antarctica named Bharati recorded a minimum temperature of -2.2°C. And simultaneously the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of -3.7°C.
Antarctica’s is perceived as one of the coldest places on Earth but when compared with chilly weather of hills of north India, it doesn’t stand a chance. Temperatures of Qazi Gund in Jammu and Kashmir have been on the negative since the start of winters. There are times when Bharati base camp in Antarctica has minimum temperatures above zero degrees Celsius.
This low temperature in hills of North India is attributed to successive western disturbances. And at present a fresh western disturbance is approaching Jammu and Kashmir again. Therefore we expect fairly widespread rain & snowfall over hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
This weather activity can be expected around January 15 and 16. One or two places may receive heavy snowfall. Other than this activity, there are 2 back to back western disturbances which will start affecting from January 17 onward. So we expect light to moderate rain and snow to continue on January 17 as well.
Normally snowfall commences over hilly states of India in November but this year snowfall was delayed due to less numbers of active western disturbances. First significant snowfall was seen on December 25, 2016.
But in January, on and off snowfall are being witnessed and after these two western disturbances weather forecasting models are indicating that 2-3 more western disturbances will follow in quick succession which will affect West Himalayas. So it is safe to say that light snowfall will continue throughout the month of January.
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Western Himalayas will witness a rainy and snowy week ahead as back to back Western Disturbances are likely to affect the region. Isolated pockets in South India are also expected to witness some rains
Let's take a look at the weather forecast for the week.
North India
Rain and snow is expected over many parts of 
The month of December remained mild for the hills of North India. So much so that only a couple of rainy and snowy spells were observed over both
A severe weather had lashed Texas on Sunday night. Moreover, severe weather warning including tornado, thunderstorm, and flash flood has been issued for North Texas. As per the National Weather Service, strong winds gusting at a speed of 60 mph are still expected as the weather system continues to roll through the state.
Tornado warnings have been issued for various parts of the state including for a few pockets of North Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Moreover, tornado warnings were in place for Dallas and Tarrant counties but later expired.
However, for Johnson County, a tornado warning was in effect until 08:15 p.m. (local time). Thunderstorm warning remains active for Ellis, Hill, Tarrant, Dallas and Johnson counties. Alongside Johnson and Tarrant counties were also on alert against a flash flood warning until 11:00 p.m.
Most of the travelers took a halt at the DFW Airport to fetch shelter from the storm. As per the Meteorological Department, the first round of storms along with winds gusting to 70mph was observed in the evening from around 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tornadoes were confirmed near the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport and also at the south of Lake Whitney at 6:34 p.m. Highway 360, near Mansfield, also observed tornadoes.
The severe weather system led to tumbling down of trees and power failures. A few homes also reported having been damaged in the 1713 area. However, any injuries have not been reported yet.
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Temperatures in Japan recently dropped to its season’s lowest on Sunday as most of the country experienced heavy snowfall especially along the coastal areas. The national meteorological organization of Japan has issued weather warnings of snowstorms and heavy accumulation.
Due to such adverse temperatures and snowstorms many flights via Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have been cancelled while services on the Tokaido Shinkansen rail lines saw delays.
The mercury plunged below zero in many areas of the country. Mount Fuji recorded a bone chilling temperature of -30.4°C. Downtown Tokyo recorded -2.3°C, while Nagoya logged -3.6°C and Osaka recorded -0.6°C.
Snowfall of more than 250 mm was recorded in the city of Aomori by Sunday morning whereas village of Okura in Yamagata recorded snowfall of 240 mm. Oshu in Iwate Prefecture observed record breaking temperatures with mercury dropping to -16.5°C.
Due to such cold weather at least three people have been found killed. An 88-year-old man in Fukuchiyama was found dead in a greenhouse after the structure apparently collapsed under the heavy weight of snow. According to a Kyodo News tally at least 300 people were injured in weather-related accidents.
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For a prolonged period of time, Srinagar has been under sub-zero degree Celsius temperatures thanks to its high altitude and back to back show of Western Disturbances.
At present, a fresh spell of snow has fallen over the state capital and has made the roads leading to wintery wonderland shut down completely. This is the second time this year when Jammu-Srinagar highway has been cut off.
Not only the highway, the basic amenities like electricity and internet services have been abrupt.
It is not just Srinagar; Pahalgam, Gulmarg along with 
Rains over southern Philippines has claimed 5 lives when record rainfall struck the island causing flash floods in the span of mere few hours. In the southern region of Mindanao more than 5000 people were forced to flee their homes as water level rose to waist-deep floods.
The hefty sum of rains that caused such widespread damage was due to a low pressure area persisting over the region. The high tide aggravated the flooding situation in the region.
The most affected province was Misamis Oriental where a 10-year-old girl drowned while crossing a river in Opol. Rescuers also found out a body of 59-year-old man from a different river in the city of Cagayan de Oro. Another tragic death was reported when a 14-year-old boy was found dead under a toppled wall in their house in Cayagan de Oro.
The meteorological bureau said that the low pressure area along with the tail end of a cold front triggered a month's rain over the affected areas in just 24 hours on Monday.
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Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com
Snowy days have been wreaking havoc over the hills of North India. So much so that snowfall was even observed over the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi during the last 48 hours. While the month of December remained mild and dry for the hilly states, January has been compensating with the ongoing rainy and snowy weather.
As per the weathermen at Skymet Weather, more snowy weather conditions are expected during the rest of January. In fact, the coming weekend is also expected to be rainy as well as snowy for the hills including the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh along with Uttarakhand.
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Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com
Since last many days, many parts of Northwest India, which includes states like 
