Festival Holi is just around the corner. The colour bonanza is coming up on Monday, 25th March. Weather conditions will vary largely with respect to the temperatures. Wet Holi will be confined to a limited area. Extreme heat in some parts may dampen the spirit. Usual Holi showers over North India may not follow suit. The comfort index will remain better over the northern half of the country. Some pockets in the south may literally swelter.
North India: Despite frequent and nearly non-stop weather activity over the mountains during the last two weeks, a short break seems manageable on Monday, 25th March across the hilly area. Pre and post-Holi activity on 24th and 26th March across the hilly states is expected. Wet activity will spare the region on D-day. Plains of north India will also remain dry across the region. Day temperatures which usually rise to high 30’s over most parts will defy the norm. Mercury is expected to hover around the low 30’s and may dip to under 30°C as well at a few places. Against the normal rituals, no rains are likely. A thin sheet of clouds may appear over some parts, but, not good enough to put up a shield against the heat.
Central India: Gujarat will be the hottest pocket with temperatures breaching 40°C at a few places like Rajkot, Amreli, Junagarh, and Morbi. Even Ahmedabad will be hot with high 30’s, nearing 40°C. Parts of Maharashtra, especially the interiors of Marathwada and Vidarbha will have pockets in the high 30’s. States like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will remain largely dry and hot. Few stray clouds may come up, but not adequate enough for any relief.
East and Northeast India: Easter parts including states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal received unseasonal weather activity during this week. The after-effect will keep the heat checked and temperatures are unlikely to soar. Some rains are likely over the extreme northeast region of Bihar, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. Entire Northeast India will be under the grip of rainy weather. Generally, the weather activity is more pronounced in the late evening, night and early morning. Arunachal Pradesh, Lower Assam and Meghalaya will score over other pockets for rainfall intensity and spread. Temperatures will be comfortable in the mid and low 20’s. However, humidity levels will be rather high.
South India: The South Peninsula will have varied weather conditions. The coastline on either side will be hot and humid. The West Coast will be hotter than the East Coast. High humidity and temperature in the mid 30’s will trigger extremely sultry conditions, more so, in the afternoon hours. Interior parts of the Peninsula, comprising Rayalaseema, North & South Interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be the hotbed of the region. The temperature in excess of 40°C is quite likely at some places. An outside chance of very light rains for a brief duration, at isolated places in Kerala, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and North Telangana.