Orange Alert in Punjab, Haryana Today; Heatwave to Follow in Late April

North Desk Bureau

Chandigarh, April 7

North India is bracing for a wild week. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on April 7 and 8, warning of intense thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds reaching 40 to 60 kilometres per hour.

The trigger is a powerful fresh Western Disturbance — a moisture-laden system originating from the Mediterranean — that has moved over the Himalayan region and is expected to intensify weather activity across the northwest through April 10.

Fairly widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds is likely across Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana on Tuesday, with the IMD warning that the spell may be accompanied by winds up to 40-60 kmph and hail on April 7 and 8.

Wheat Farmers in the Crosshairs

The timing could not be worse for Punjab and Haryana farmers. On April 3 and 4, large hailstones flattened wheat fields across Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, causing significant crop losses. Now, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken cognisance of the damage, directing ministry officials to conduct a comprehensive review of crop losses and coordinate with state authorities.

Agrometeorological advisories have urged farmers in Punjab and Haryana to deploy hail nets over orchards and vegetable plots and harvest matured crops without delay.

The Whiplash Ahead

Here is what makes this weather cycle particularly disorienting: the storms are a prelude to intense heat, not a respite from summer.

After April 8 to 10, conditions are expected to stabilise — but this relief may be short-lived, as the latter half of April is likely to turn dry and significantly hotter, marking a sharp return of summer across North India.

The IMD’s summer outlook, released last week, carries a key finding for the region. Unlike other regions, North India is likely to see a cooler-than-normal summer in aggregate — but this masks above-normal heatwave days expected across northwest India between April and June.

March 2026 recorded the second warmest minimum temperatures in 126 years, and the IMD has warned that heatwave spells in April could extend up to nine days in some regions — longer than the climatological average of three to five days.

What to Do

The IMD has advised residents to avoid open areas during thunderstorms and lightning. Farmers are specifically being told to complete wheat harvesting immediately and shelter livestock during hailstorms.

Conditions are expected to ease by April 9–10, after which North India’s next test will be the summer that follows.