NEW DELHI: Stormy weather including hail, rain and gusty winds over the past few days caused widespread crop losses — up to 45% in some areas — in north India, as per reports from states. While wheat and mustard suffered damage across the region, sugarcane was hit in western UP. Losses to potato and several vegetables as well as fruits were also reported, although the apple crop was expected to benefit from the snowfall.
An intense ‘western disturbance’ — a wave of moist winds from the Mediterranean region that impacts north India — impacted the region from Feb 29 to March 4, causing hail and thunderstorms in the plains and heavy snowfall in higher Himalayas.
In Punjab, as per initial estimates, crop losses were reported in 2% to 5% of the state’s cultivable area. “Damage to crops, mainly wheat and mustard, is spread over 1.5 lakh hectares,” said Punjab agriculture and farmer welfare department director Jaswant Singh.
Reports of crop damage were received from across UP. Losses of over 40% to standing crops were reported from Mahoba and Lalitpur districts while a third of the crops were reportedly damaged at many places in Amethi, Etah, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hardoi, Kaushambi, Meerut, among others.
“Both mustard and wheat were in the milking stage when the hailstorm came. There’s a permanent loss of 15%,” said Rajinder Singh, a farmer in Chandak village of Bijnor. Dharmender Malik from Shamli said, “There is considerable damage to the standing sugarcane crop.”
The wheat crop was hit in Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and UP. “Nearly 40 % of the standing wheat crop fell to the ground because of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area,” Vinod Gupta, a Lakhimpur Kheri farmer, said.
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