On Friday, Delhi and nearby northern and central regions experienced a long-awaited wet spell, bringing mild to moderate rainfall and a rise in temperatures. The rain, accompanied by slow winds, is expected to be beneficial for the standing rabi crops, especially wheat and mustard, which have been enduring a prolonged dry spell since October. Rabi crops are typically sown in winter (October to December) and harvested in spring (April to June).
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), widespread rains are expected to continue into Saturday.
“Delhi has received around 3 centimeters of rainfall so far, and we anticipate that the showers will persist through the night, tapering off by noon tomorrow,” a senior IMD official stated.
While some hailstorms were reported in areas like western Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Hisar in Haryana, they were not widespread.
Given that most of North India has seen little to no rain since early October, these first winter rains of the season are expected to be a positive development for the standing rabi crops, the official noted.
Experts believe that the recent light rains could especially benefit the wheat crop, which is in its growing stage in many areas, potentially reducing the need for one irrigation cycle.
Latest sowing data indicates that wheat acreage is on par with the average of the last five years as of the week ending December 20, suggesting a normal harvest, assuming favorable weather conditions persist in the coming months.
As of last week, wheat has been sown on about 31.22 million hectares, which is 2.46% more than the same period last year and almost identical to the average of the past five years. In the past five years, wheat has typically been sown on approximately 31.23 million hectares.
Regarding other rabi crops, mustard acreage is slightly lower than last year but still above the normal level, while gram acreage is higher than last year but below the five-year average.
