The fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls, moderate thunderstorm and lightning may continue for two more days over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep before relenting, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update has said.

As for today (Wednesday), isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal. The unprecedented January rain is attributed to sustained easterly flows over the Bay of Bengal amplified by a helpful Madden-Julian Oscillation wave transiting the Indian Ocean recently.

More rain forecast for South

Central and North-West India too have witnessed above normal rainfall during the first 12 days of January. These regions have dried up after rain-driving western disturbances have taken a break, allowing cold and dry north/northwesterly winds to blow and bring back the winter chill yet again.

Minimum (night) temperatures may stay below-normal over most North-West India during next 3-4 days, setting off cold day/severe cold day conditions (maximum day temperatures at 16 degree Celsius or below) over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next 2-3 days.

Cold wave to severe cold wave

Cold wave/severe cold wave conditions may prevail over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and in isolated parts over Uttar Pradesh, North Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Ground frost may occur over South Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and North Rajasthan. Dense to very dense fog may descend over parts of North-West India during the next 4-5 days.

More rain forecast for the next two days over the South Peninsula promises to add to the record amounts dumped already over the region. At least four states have rain surpluses running into four-figures - Kerala (2,469 per cent); Karnataka (2,322 per cent); Goa (1,763 per cent); and Lakshadweep (1,110 per cent).

Rain surplus elsewhere, too

They are followed by Tamil Nadu (800 per cent); Puducherry (687 per cent); Rajasthan (421 per cent); Delhi (393 per cent); Haryana (372 per cent); Andhra Pradesh (302 per cent); Maharashtra (297 per cent); Jammu & Kashmir (222 per cent); Uttarakhand (164 per cent); Gujarat (183 per cent); Punjab (82 per cent); Uttar Pradesh (52 per cent); and Himachal Pradesh (22 per cent).

However, there are rain deficits over a few states a well (Telangana, -53 per cent; Madhya Pradesh, -34 per cent; Chandigarh, -30 per cent and Ladakh, -18 per cent). Some others have either large deficits or no rain at all - East and entire North-East India with Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh recording no rain.

Rain surplus implications

The huge unseasonal rain surpluses in the South have adverse implications for standing crops with the IMD agro-meteorology services issuing warnings to farmers. In Tamil Nadu, they have been told to complete early season sugarcane planting before January 18, given the prevailing humid weather.

Incidence of pests and diseases need to be monitored. These range from tikka leaf spot and rust infection in groundnut; powdery mildew in grapes; early shoot borer in sugarcane; fungus in vegetable crops in the hills; gall midge in paddy; mildew and spotted bollworm in cotton; and leaf blotch in turmeric, to sigatoka leaf spot in banana.

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