Prayagraj: The city witnessed a sudden change in weather with strong winds accompanied by light rain on Friday.The day began with bright sunshine and intense heat, but by afternoon dark clouds covered the sky followed by strong winds and light rain, making the weather significantly cooler and pleasant. The untimely showers brought relief from recent rise in temperature, but also raised concerns for farmers. According to the meteorological department, such fluctuations were observed over the past two days, with forecasts indicating thunderstorms and rain. The sudden cloud cover and gusty winds led to a sharp drop in temperature. On Thursday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 22.6 degrees Celsius. On Friday, however, the temperature dipped sharply by around 5 degrees, with maximum temperature recorded at 35.8 degrees and minimum at 23.6 degrees Celsius.The weather department has issued an orange alert, warning of strong winds and rainfall in the region. As per the warning, Prayagraj and adjoining areas will witness a partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thunder showers. Thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (40-50 kmph), are also likely on Saturday, warns IMD.While the weather change has brought comfort to people, it has increased worries for wheat crops among farmers. The wheat harvesting is underway in many areas and some fields still have standing crops. Farmers fear that strong winds and rain could damage the crop by flattening it or exposing it to moisture, putting their hard labour at risk. “If the rain intensifies, our crops may suffer heavy losses,” said a farmer of Soraon. Power supply was also disrupted in several areas, including Preetam Nagar, for hours due to strong winds. Some trees got uprooted and hoardings were also damaged.
