Rain likely in western Himalayan region, says IMD

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There is likely to be widespread and heavy rainfall in the western Himalayan region from August 16-18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The interaction between the monsoon trough and an approaching western disturbance is likely to cause fairly widespread rain with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over the western Himalayan region, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh mainly on August 17 and 18, the IMD’s bulletin on Thursday said.

“A well marked low pressure area is lying over northwest Madhya Pradesh and adjoining south Uttar Pradesh, which is causing intense rains in Madhya Pradesh, northern Gujarat region, east Rajasthan and adjoining areas. We are expecting very heavy rains there today (August 15). This system will interact with the westerly trough and bring intense rains in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, parts of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. We can expect heavy to very heavy falls in some of these regions till August 19,” said K Sathi Devi, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre in Delhi.

For August 17, there is an orange alert – it means authorities should be prepared to avert disaster – in all northwestern states. For August 18, the orange alert is limited to Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The overall monsoon rains were at 1% surplus as on August 14. While central India has a surplus of 16%, south peninsular India has a surplus of 5%. East and northeast India have a deficiency of 15% and northwest India has a deficiency of 10%.

In the next three-four days, enhanced rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya.

The death toll in Kerala due to flooding and landslides rose to 106 this week. Some villages had to be evacuated in Madhya Pradesh because of intense rain and flooding.

“From August 16, there will be a significant decrease in rains in Kerala, coastal Karnataka and other parts of the Western Ghats. Rains will also subside in central India after August 17; they will continue in north and east India,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology, at Skymet Weather.