The weather conditions changed suddenly early on Friday morning as light to moderate showers lashed the city from around 4 am. The rain brought relief from heat and made the weather pleasant, though it caused some inconvenience to people. The rainfall intensified briefly around 9 am before stopping, followed by light sunshine. However, cloud cover remained throughout the day with intermittent sunshine. The Weather Department has forecast cloudy conditions and chances of light rain in next one to two days. Due to rainfall, maximum temperature on Friday dropped significantly. Spokesman of Weather Department informed that in the afternoon the temperature was recorded at 29.7 degrees Celsius, about 5 degrees below normal.

 

Unseasonal rain in rural areas has raised concerns among farmers. Standing crops like wheat, gram and lentil are ready for harvest and farmers fear that rain may affect crop quality and delay harvesting. Spokesman of Weather Department said change in weather is due to a cyclonic circulation, western disturbance and a trough affecting Madhya Pradesh. Alerts for rain, hailstorm and thunderstorms have been issued in several districts, along with warnings of lightning and strong winds. The weather system is expected to weaken after March 22, after which temperature is likely to rise again. Heat conditions are expected to intensify towards the end of March, with temperature possibly reaching up to 45 degrees Celsius in April and May in Jabalpur region.