Overview
- The India Meteorological Department, which issued alerts Tuesday, warned of thunderstorms with gusts from 30 to 50 km/h and lightning across parts of Rajasthan and 16 districts in Madhya Pradesh.
- An active Western Disturbance with a cyclonic circulation over western Rajasthan is driving storms, rain and dust in divisions including Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Ajmer.
- Weather activity is forecast to intensify from the night of April 2, with a major system on April 3–4 likely to bring wider thunderstorms and rain across Rajasthan and into Madhya Pradesh.
- Recent hail and downpours damaged wheat, onions and horticulture crops in districts such as Neemuch, Mandsaur and Ujjain, and officials advised farmers to cover harvests, secure grain in mandis and pause pesticide use.
- Western Disturbances are west-to-east weather waves that draw moisture from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, which can quickly turn heat into storms that cool cities but put harvest-ready fields at risk.