“This is the pre-monsoon season, which is characterized by high maximum temperatures but low humidity,” says K B Malla, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Forecasting Division.
Malla says that this phenomenon also causes the blustery weather, characteristic of this season.
“If there is moisture in the air, then the high temperature turns the moisture into rain, otherwise the hot air turns into fast erratic winds; the lack of moisture also leads to thunder and lightning,” adds Malla.
Since the moisture levels won’t be increasing any time soon, we’ll probably be seeing more unbearably hot days for a while. Malla says that while a few scattered late-afternoon showers in the hilly regions of the country isn’t unlikely, overall, the country will not see much rainfall.
And the rains that we do see should not be mistaken for the monsoons because, claims Malla, that kind of rain is just a local-weather phenomenon; the monsoons will arrive only when ground temperatures rise considerably, creating a low-pressure system that is strong enough to get the southerly humid wind to the Himalayan region.
Malla also points out that the average temperature around this season has risen over the years, citing global warming as the reason.
“It’s not that temperatures didn’t reach this high before, but these few years, the maximum temperature has remained above 30 degrees throughout the season, which is a big change,” says Malla.
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