Monsoon advances in India, very heavy rainfall likely in these states: IMD issues alert

Weather update: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a rainfall alert in several states across India, noting that conditions favourable for the further advance of southwest monsoon have been met in most of eastern India and adjoining parts of central India. Check all details here.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity in parts of Uttar Pradesh over the course of the next 1-2 hours. The Met department had already issued an alert for heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning in parts of West Bengal and isolated rains in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, owing to a cyclonic formation adjoining the northeast Bay of Bengal.

Motorists make their way along a road as dark monsoon clouds loom over Siliguri on June 11, 2021. (Diptendu DUTTA / AFP)

Very heavy to heavy rainfall will be witnessed in most of east India and adjoining central India, continuing from Friday, with the widespread rainfall activity a result of the underlying low-pressure area that formed over north Bay of Bengal and its neighbourhood around June 11, the IMD said. In its bulletin, the Met department explained that a cyclonic circulation lies over east-central and adjoining the northeast Bay of Bengal at middle tropospheric levels, forming the low-pressure area under its influence.

A rainfall alert has been issued by the IMD in these states:

1 . Uttar Pradesh: Thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over Kasganj, Bijnor, Deoband, Naziababad, Roorkee, Sharanpur, Chandpur, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Chandausi, Bilari, Atrauli, and adjoining areas during the next 2 hours.

2 . Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana to witness fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfalls.

3 . Bihar and Uttarakhand, along with other parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to witness fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy fall over the next 4-5 days. The rest of northwest India will receive scattered to fairly widespread rainfall during June 11-14, with isolated heavy rainfall on June 12-13.

4 . Kerala is very likely to witness isolated heavy rainfall during June 11-15, while extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over Konkan and Goa in the same duration. The coastal and adjoining Ghats districts of Maharashtra and coastal Karnataka are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during this time.

Issuing its rainfall alerts, the IMD added that conditions favourable for the further advance of southwest monsoon will become prominent in more parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts Chhattisgarh and Odisha, entire West Bengal and Jharkhand and parts of Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh, and remaining parts of North Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours.