Heavy rain expected in Delhi in next 2 days, red alert for northeastern states

Civic agencies in Delhi are making preparations as the city and adjoining areas brace for heavy rain after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an ‘orange’ alert till Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday, the national capital recorded 9 mm rainfall with humidity hovering at 60 per cent at 5.30 pm. In view of the heavy rainfall prediction, civic bodies across Delhi have increased their manpower and readied equipment to swiftly deal with waterlogging, tree-felling and other issues.

The central government-controlled New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has also ramped up its preparations to handle waterlogging complaints and is monitoring areas under Lutyens’ Delhi through CCTV cameras, an official told news agency PTI.

On Friday, June 28, Delhi was brought to a standstill after heavy rain lashed the city, with 228.1 mm of rainfall in just a few hours.

Meanwhile, several states across India, including Gujarat and Rajasthan, faced heavy downpours on Sunday, affecting normal life as the Monsoon further advanced towards the northern states.

According to the IMD, heavy rain will continue in some parts of eastern Rajasthan and light to moderate rains in some parts of western Rajasthan in the next four to five days.

In Gujarat, the wet spell is likely to continue as a cyclonic circulation over northeast Arabian Sea adjoining the Saurashtra region intensifies, the weather body said.

In Maharashtra, the rains will continue in the coming days, with the Konkan region likely to receive intense rainfall.

The Met office also predicted isolated heavy rain for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and coastal and south interior Karnataka on July 1.

Isolated heavy rainfall is also expected in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh till July 3.

The weather office predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers at many places in the Jammu division towards late night or early morning hours till July 3, followed by intermittent light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy showers or rainfall at few places from July 4 to 7.

The weather office has also issued an advisory of flash floods, landslides and shooting stones in Jammu.

Meanwhile, a ‘Red alert’ has been issued for several northeastern states with the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall.

“At present, monsoon is in active phase. For the Northeastern states, we are expecting extremely heavy rainfall for the next 2 days, especially in Arunachal Pradesh,” an IMD official said while speaking to news agency ANI.

The IMD issues four colour-coded warnings — “green” (no action needed), “yellow” (watch and stay updated), “orange” (be prepared) and “red” (take action).