Red, orange alerts in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Monsoon rains hit Delhi-NCR

IMD issued a red alert for Uttarakhand and an orange alert for Himachal Pradesh for heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

Rain lashed in many parts of the country on Sunday as India's annual monsoon rains reached nine days earlier than is typical, the weather department said. In a typical year, rains lash the southwestern coastal state of Kerala around June 1 and move northwards to cover the entire country by July 8, according to the Met Department.

The monsoon on Sunday covered Delhi two days after the normal date of June 27 and advanced over the remaining parts of the country. (PTI)

For Monday, IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely at isolated places over Bihar, Chhattisgarh, East Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Vidarbha.

Red and orange alert for Uttarakhand and Himachal

The IMD has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms on June 30 across several Uttarakhand districts, including Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Haridwar and Nainital. In response, authorities temporarily halted the Char Dham Yatra for the safety of pilgrims, which has now been lifted. In Himachal Pradesh, an orange alert has also been issued warning of light to moderate rainfall at many places in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Hamirpur, Mandi, and Kangra, with a few spells of intense to very intense rainfall likely to occur at isolated places.

Heavy rain expected in Punjab, orange alert

IMD has issued an orange alert for various districts in Punjab including Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana and Rupnagar, where very heavy rain with thunderstorm and lightning is expected. On Sunday, the Chandigarh was hit with heavy rains with 119.5 mm rain recorded till 8.30 am on Sunday, which also led to heavy waterlogging across the city.

Monsoon arrived Delhi

The southwest monsoon arrived in Delhi on Sunday, simultaneously covering the entire country nine days ahead of schedule. This was a rare meteorological convergence that has occurred only five times since 2001.

For Monday, IMD issued an orange alert with a prediction of thunderstorm and lightning in Delhi and adjoining cities.

For northeast India very heavy rainfall is likely to persist over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during July 2 to 5.