Showers, winds break humid spell, is monsoon at city doorstep?

Bhopal: As monsoon arrived in neighbouring Chhattisgarh on Monday, a curious question would have popped up in the minds of many in the city: could Madhya Pradesh be far?Giving hope to the much-awaited onset of monsoon, the state capital received sharp showers, accompanied by gusting winds, on Monday afternoon, bringing residents a measure of respite from the humid conditions over the last couple of days.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 20 mm of rainfall in Bhopal till 5.30 pm, while the maximum temperature settled at 35.2°C.In more good news, the regional meteorological office said there was more wet weather in the offing on Tuesday, as it issued a yellow alert in Bhopal and several other districts for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds along with rain at isolated places.A similar rain alert was also flagged for Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Sagar, Damoh, Katni, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Umaria, Shahdol, Anuppur and Dindori, apart from several other districts in western and southern Madhya Pradesh.However, the weather activity is expected to shift southwards on Wednesday, the Met said, adding that while Bhopal, Vidisha and Raisen are likely to remain under a green category with no warning, rain and thunderstorm activity is forecast mainly over districts such as Sehore, Harda, Narmadapuram, Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Balaghat, Katni, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Dindori, Umaria, Shahdol and Anuppur.

Western districts including Indore, Dhar, Jhabua, Alirajpur, Khargone and Khandwa are also likely to remain under yellow alert.According to the IMD’s weather summary, rainfall over the past 24 hours was recorded at a few places in Bhopal, Shahdol and Sagar divisions, while isolated showers occurred in parts of Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Rewa and Jabalpur divisions. Most other areas remained dry.Temperature trends across the state remained largely unchanged over the last 24 hours, with the maximum recorded below normal by up to 2.5 degrees in the Chambal division, while districts in Rewa and Shahdol divisions recorded temperatures up to 3 degrees above normal.In Indore, Narmadapuram and Jabalpur divisions, the maximum temperatures were recorded at 3.5 to 5 degrees above normal. Minimum temperatures also showed little change, with the exception of Shahdol division where the night temperatures were recorded at 5.6 degrees above normal.According to Met officials, the ongoing weather pattern is likely to keep rain activity scattered across the state over the next two days, with central districts including Bhopal likely to receive intermittent showers before the rain clouds start veering towards southern and eastern Madhya Pradesh.