Chandigarh: Winter-like conditions have returned to Punjab after widespread rainfall, strong winds, and hailstorms affected several parts of the state on Monday and Tuesday, leading to a noticeable drop in temperatures.
According to the Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature recorded a decline of 1.4 degrees Celsius, falling 3.7 degrees below the seasonal average. The minimum temperature also dropped by 2.6 degrees Celsius and is currently close to normal levels.
Weather officials have predicted the activation of a fresh western disturbance over Punjab from Tuesday night. Under its influence, light to moderate rainfall is likely in parts of Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, and Patiala on Wednesday and Thursday.
A Yellow Alert has been issued for March 19 and 20 across the state. During this period, strong winds with speeds of 40–50 km per hour accompanied by rainfall are expected in several districts.
Alerts have been issued for Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Fatehgarh Sahib, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Patiala, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Moga, Bathinda, Barnala, and Mansa districts.
On Monday, Faridkot recorded the highest maximum temperature in Punjab at 26.7°C. Other cities reported maximum temperatures as follows: Amritsar 21.0°C, Ludhiana 21.6°C, Patiala 26.0°C, Pathankot 22.7°C, Bathinda 25.2°C, Fazilka 24.9°C, Ferozepur 21.7°C, Hoshiarpur 17.2°C, and Rupnagar 21.0°C.
Gurdaspur recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 10°C. Minimum temperatures were recorded at 12.4°C in Amritsar, 11.5°C in Ludhiana, 13.3°C in Patiala, 11.9°C in Pathankot, and 12.5°C in Bathinda.
The sudden weather change is expected to keep temperatures below normal levels while bringing intermittent rain and strong winds across Punjab over the next two days.
