The IMD said that light to moderate rain and thundershowers occurred in most parts of the country in the last 24 hours. In the last 24 hours, hailstorm occurred in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh and North Interior Karnataka.

rain forecast
In its latest forecast, the IMD said that thunderstorm, lightning, storm and hailstorm are likely at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on March 19 and West Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, East Rajasthan and Uttarakhand on March 20. The same is likely to happen on March 21.

It said that strong wind and hail could cause damage to standing crops, injury to people and cattle in open areas and partial damage to weak structures due to strong winds.

In this likely scenario, the IMD has advised farmers to “postpone harvesting of crops in Punjab, Haryana and West Madhya Pradesh and if already harvested, store them in safe places to avoid losses”. Who is told.

Advice not to irrigate wheat crops
Farmers have also been asked not to irrigate the wheat crop to save the plant from falling.

Farmers of Rajasthan have been advised to harvest mature mustard and gram as soon as possible and store them in a safe place. Similarly, farmers of East Madhya Pradesh have been asked to harvest mustard, gram and wheat immediately and keep them in a safe place. Farmers in Maharashtra have been asked to harvest wheat, pulses and grapes immediately.

The IMD said, “Stop the harvesting of crops in Marathwada for the time being. Use ‘skirting bags’ or aluminum-lined paper on bunches of grapes to protect them from rain. Use hail nets to protect orchards.

Crops will be affected by unseasonal rains
Rajbir Yadav, wheat breeder at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), told PTI that the current unseasonal rains, hailstorm and strong wind are not good for the standing wheat crop and may affect its yield.

Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop and harvesting has already started in some parts of the country. The government has estimated a record wheat production of 112.2 million tonnes for the crop year 2022-23 (July-June).