New Delhi: Torrential rains have crippled several parts of the country and rain alerts have been issued by the central weather agency in the next coming days. In Kerala, the heavy downpour has disrupted the normal lives of the people since Friday, and rescue efforts are in full swing.
The India Meteorological Department has notified that a western disturbance and formation of two lower pressure systems, one over the Arabian Sea and the other over the Bay of Bengal will continue to cause rainfall in different parts of the country till October 21. IMD has predicted moderate to severe thunderstorms in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
“Moderate to severe thunderstorms accompanied with lighting and squally winds (speed reaching occasionally 40-50 kmph) very likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Northeast Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, and Gangetic West Bengal during next 24 hours,” the statement issued by the IMD on Sunday read.
Check rain updates impacting major cities
Delhi: Several areas in the national capital and adjoining areas witnessed heavy rainfall on Monday. The current temperature in Delhi has come down to 21 degrees Celsius. The India Meteorological Department, meanwhile, has predicted light to moderate intensity rainfall in the Delhi-NCR region on Monday.
Thunderstorms with moderate intensity rain with heavy intensity rain over isolated places would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of Hodal, Aurangabad, Palwal, Faridabad, Ballabhgarh(Haryana), Bulandshahar, Gulothi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida.
According to private weather forecasting agency Skymet Weather, Safdarjung in Delhi recorded the highest rain in a decade in a 24-hour period in October. Safdarjung recorded 85 mm and Palam 55 mm rain until 05:30 am today. Record is of 172.7 mm on October 1 in 1954
Uttarakhand: “Thunderstorm and heavy rainfall activity over Uttarakhand, West UP and Haryana on 17th & 18th as a result of WD interaction with low level easterlies,” noted IMD in its update on Twitter. In view of the heavy rain warning in Uttarakhand, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday directed the authorities appealed to people not to undertake the Char Dham Yatra amid warnings of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state from October 17-19.
The chief minister further directed the police, the SDRF and other personnel concerned to be on high alert at sensitive places. The chief minister's directions came after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert warning for Uttarakhand for Monday (October 18) along with an orange alert till Tuesday.
Most educational institutions across Uttarakhand will remain closed on Monday while there will be a ban on trekking, mountaineering, and camping activities in the high altitude areas of the state till Tuesday as a precautionary measure in view of the heavy rain alert issued by the Met department.
The orders for closure of educational institutions, including schools, colleges and anganwadi centres, were issued on Sunday by the district administrations following a heavy rain alert issued for all the 13 districts of Uttarakhand on Monday.
The IMD has also issued a red alert with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rain in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Nainital and Champawat districts.
Bengal & Odisha: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rainfall in West Bengal and Odisha till October 20 due to a low-pressure area formed over north Telangana and strong southeasterly wind from the Bay of Bengal.
It advised fishermen of the two states not to venture into the sea till Tuesday. Under the influence of the low-pressure area, squally weather with surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kilometres per hour gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to prevail over the deep sea areas of North Bay of Bengal till October 19, the IMD said.
It warned of a rise in water level in rivers, waterlogging in low-lying areas and landslides in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal due to the downpour. In Odisha, which is already passing through a wet spell, the state government alerted the district authorities to keep a close watch on the situation.
Kerala: At least 21 people have died in Kerala due to flash floods and landslides because of heavy rain since Friday, according to the news agency ANI. While the rain has subsided by Sunday afternoon, authorities were closely watching the threat of landslides.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow alert -possibility of severely bad weather - in 11 districts for Monday. The low-pressure area formed in the Arabian Sea near Lakshadweep has weakened, but the weather agency predicted that heavy rains will continue till Monday evening.
(With PTI inputs)