The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert on Friday for extremely heavy rainfall in several states across northern India. The affected states include Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. This heavy rainfall is attributed to a trough extending from Rajasthan to the Northeast and an active monsoon over northern West Bengal. The weather department had previously predicted heavy rainfall over northwest and east India for the next 4-5 days, starting on Thursday. Delhi experienced an overcast sky and moderate rainfall on Friday.
The IMD forecast for Uttarakhand includes very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall from July 3 to July 6, with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on July 7. Rajasthan continues to see heavy rainfall, with Malpura in Tonk district recording a significant 176 mm of rain in the last 24 hours. Several parts of the state have witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall in the same period.
In West Bengal, the Met Department predicts more rains until July 9 in the northern part of the state. The sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Coochbehar are expected to experience heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain in one or two places until July 9. The IMD warns that the water levels of rivers like Teesta, Jaldhaka, Sankosh, and Torsa may rise due to the heavy rainfall.
Himachal Pradesh also experienced heavy rains across several parts of the state on Friday. The Shimla meteorological office issued a ‘yellow’ alert, warning of heavy rains, thunderstorms, and lightning at isolated places on Saturday. Widespread rain has occurred in the state over the past 24 hours.
The recent heavy rainfall in northwest and northeast India has brought down the overall monsoon precipitation deficit in the country. The deficit, which stood at 11 percent on June 30, has reduced to just 3 percent on Thursday. The monsoon, which made an early onset over Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30 and progressed normally up to Maharashtra, lost momentum subsequently. This delay has extended the wait for rains in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and worsened the impact of a scorching heatwave in northwest India.
