Unseasonal rains, hailstorms threaten wheat farmers' crops
March is usually when India starts to warm up, but this year has flipped the script.
Northern states are feeling an unexpected chill (temperatures have dropped by up to six degrees Celsius), and Maharashtra just got hit with some intense hailstorms.
All of this is happening while farmers in Punjab and Haryana prepare for the upcoming April wheat harvest, making things extra tough.
Western disturbance is causing this weird weather
A strong western disturbance from the Mediterranean is behind the weird weather, bringing thunderstorms to Delhi and Punjab and hailstorms to parts of Maharashtra like Dharashiv and Bhor; the IMD has issued orange alerts for several districts.
For wheat farmers, high winds can flatten crops and make harvesting harder, while hail can seriously damage the grain.
The unstable weather is expected to stick around until March 20, so there's a lot of worry about crop losses this season.