As per the recent reports crops worth nearly Rs. 255 crore has been damaged by hailstorms and heavy rainfall across 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh so far this year. While nearly 6.5 lakh farmers are likely to be affected, the estimated area of crop damage is roughly around 2.37 lakh hectare. Crops that have been majorly hit include wheat, masoor, jowar, mustard, peas, etc.
The most recent damage comes from the rains of March 12 and 13, when as many as 14 districts of the state were affected. These include Fatehpur, Azamgarh, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Bahraich, Gonda, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Amethi, Jhansi, Etawah, Lakhimpurkhiri, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra. These rains were already forecast by Skymet Weather.
While around 1 lakh hectare of nearly 3 lakh farmers was affected due to hailstorm and heavy rains in just a span of 24 hours, nearly 24,000 hectares had seen over 33 per cent of crop damage.
Not just crops, as per sources, this year 52 casualties have been reported due to hailstorm.
Looking back into the data for the previous two years, no major damage to crops was reported due to hailstorm until back in 2018, when just seven districts were affected.
Talking of weather forecast, another strong Western Disturbance is soon expected to approach the Western Himalayas on March 24. This weather system will further induce a Cyclonic Circulation in the plains of the North.
In the wake of the above-mentioned weather system, we expect fairly widespread rain and thundershowers in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, North Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh on March 24.
Image Credits- The Hindu
All information taken from here should be credited to Skymet Weather.