The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has brought a glimmer of hope to North India, forecasting relief from the intense heatwave conditions on June 19th. As the monsoon advances, the IMD predicts heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy falls, over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and the Assam-Meghalaya region over the next two days.
The IMD has issued several alerts for different regions. A red alert has been issued for Uttar Pradesh from June 18th to 20th. Orange alerts have been issued for northern Madhya Pradesh on June 19th, and Uttar Pradesh on June 21st and 22nd. A yellow alert is in place for June 19th in northern Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
In a significant announcement on June 18th, the IMD predicted below-normal monsoon rainfall in June. This forecast comes as the north and northwestern parts of the country continue to grapple with an intense heatwave. The IMD stated that the average June rainfall for the country is likely to be below normal, less than 92 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA). Since the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 30th, the country has received 20 per cent deficient rainfall, contributing to the ongoing heatwave conditions.
Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Assam & Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh till June 2nd. Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura are forecast to experience similar conditions on June 19th and 22nd, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall predicted in some areas. Sikkim is expected to see widespread light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on June 19th, and heavy rainfall from June 20th to 22nd.
IMD scientist Soma Sen told ANI, “A red alert has been issued in North India. The North-West Himalayan region of India, including Punjab and Haryana, will experience cloudy weather from the evening and rain is also expected. The heatwave situation is likely to reduce in Punjab and Haryana. From tomorrow, an orange alert will be issued in Delhi.” (With Inputs from Agencies)
