Rajasthan was on the receiving end of heavy rains and hailstorms during the evening and night hours last week, which left different parts of the state covered in sheets of ice. In fact, reports suggest that the state has not witnessed such violent hailstorms for several decades. The district of Nagaur—located between Jodhpur and Bikaner—and its villages of Chhapri, Maulasar and Keechak particularly bore the brunt of heavy hailstorms starting Thursday, December 12. The hail lead to a beautiful, snow-covered Kashmir view in these arid regions. The downpour of rain and hail was caused by the Western Disturbance (WD) that passed over northern India towards the end of last week. Rajasthan’s Ganganagar district recorded the highest amount of rainfall on Thursday, with the 15.8 mm showers also causing the temperatures to drop down to 8 degrees Celsius. Apart from Rajasthan, the WD also thunderstorms and strong winds in several other northern states, including the Delhi-NCR. Experts say that in recent years, many parts of India has been witnessing unseasonable hailstorms with increasing frequency. The unusually high air temperature and abnormal ground heating is the common thread in most of the intense hailstorms. Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal subsequently asked the state government to come to the aid of the farmers and announce a special package to help them deal with their major losses. Beniwal also said he would urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay special attention to these farmers’ cases. On Friday, December 13, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held a meeting with Chief Secretary DB Gupta and other officials, and directed them to survey the crop loss. Source - https://weather.com