Freak climate in North India

Snowfall in the middle of March; heavy showers in the drying-up phase of the monsoon; catastrophic floods before the rainy season; searing heat in parts of south India — extreme climate events seem to be the norm in the past year, deepening concerns about climate change.

The unusually cool and rainy weather currently prevailing in the north is raising concerns about potato and sugar production while mustard and wheat harvests, which were earlier headed for a record, would be lower. To make matters worse, the dreaded El Nino phenomenon, in which changes in temperature in the Pacific Ocean disrupt global weather patterns including Indian monsoon, seems more likely than earlier forecasts.

The bad news is that unusual weather conditions are casting a shadow on farm output and winter tourism in snowy regions as the erratic weather changes are not predictable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events is rising.