It's been hot and dry in Punjab, India.

May 3, 2016

Dust storms (click here) hit many places in Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, bringing down the mercury by a few notches and providing relief to the people reeling under sweltering heat conditions.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was also hit by a dust storm in the morning.The maximum temperature, which was close to 43 degrees Celsius here yesterday, also dropped by a few notches.

People in Hisar in Haryana, where the maximum had on Monday crossed the 45 degrees Celsius mark, also got some relief from the severe heat wave as dusty conditions brought down the mercury on Tuesday morning.

Ambala, Kurukshetra, Jind, Rohtak, Panchkula among other places in Haryana also witnessed partly cloudy skies on Tuesday....

May 1, 2016

Islamabad: Scattered rains and dust storms (click here) are expected from Monday to Thursday in Punjab Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Khaber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Kashmir.

The day temperatures are expected to fall 23 C below normal after the rainfall.

A fresh westerly wave is likely to approach Pakistan on Sunday evening Monday that will produce rains with intermissions and gusty winds in plain areas of the country during the coming week, an official of Met office told APP.

Under the influence of this westerly wave scattered rain dust storm is expected in Islamabad, FATA, KP, Punjab, GB and Kashmir during Monday evening to Thursday....

May 2, 2016

City sizzles at 44 degree Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit), dust storm adds to commuters' woes

Mercury maintained an upward trend (click here) in the city today along with a heavy dust storm forcing residents to remain indoor.

High humidity levels during the morning hours also caused a lot of inconvenience to residents of the region.

As per the Agri-Met Department of the PAU Regional Centre in Bathinda, the maximum temperature recorded was 44.2°C and the minimum temperature was recorded at 20.6°C. This is the highest maximum temperature which has been recorded in the city this season so far.

The day started on a hot and humid note but in the evening the weather took a sudden change and at around 4.30 pm clouds came out and dust storm lashed the city.

People were caught by surprise as the wind velocity suddenly increased in the afternoon. Those riding two-wheelers were forced to slow down their vehicles while some decided to take a halt and wait for the storm to subside. The dust storm also disrupted power supply   in various parts of the city....

May 3, 2016
The diversion of wheat from Punjab to Haryana (click here) to get prompt payment and fall in yield of the main rabi crop could be responsible for the state not meeting its target of wheat procurement this year. As against the original target of procuring 129 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat from the state, the procurement is expected to be around 105 LMT.

Till last night, 102.07 LMT of wheat had been procured by state agencies and the FCI in the state. Though this figure is more than the wheat procured on the corresponding day last year (82 LMT), sources said that last year the season peaked late because of rains in March.

The fall in procurement figures is mainly because a large quantity of wheat from Punjab has been sold in neighbouring Haryana this year. It is estimated that over 6 LMT of wheat from the state has been sold in Haryana as payments to farmers in the state were not made till April 22.

In Haryana, the procurement till date is 63.31 LMT as against 57.55 LMT last year despite almost 90,000 hectare fall in the area under wheat. This proves that wheat from Punjab villages along the 250 km inter-state border has been sold in Haryana.

“As a result, there has been a fall in the total wheat procured in Punjab. Punjab was targeting procurement of 129 LMT. But the high temperature in December and rains in February led to the Ministry of Agriculture revising the wheat production and procurement targets. Punjab then revised its procurement target to 111 LMT,” said a senior government official....