India weather highlights: 52 dead in Himachal rain fury; yellow alert in Delhi for tommorow

Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 23 flash floods, 19 cloudbursts and 16 landslides since the onset of monsoon on June 20, with 52 people losing their lives to rain-related incidents in the state so far, officials said on Monday.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations have been intensified with drones and sniffer dogs to trace the remaining 28 people who went missing in Thunag, Gohar and Karsog subdivisions last week.

Heavy rainfall lashed Srinagar and several other parts of Kashmir on Monday, ending a prolonged heatwave during which the Valley saw the hottest July day in over 70 years.

Srinagar city witnessed the third hottest day ever as mercury soared to 37.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

The hottest ever day recorded in Srinagar was on July 10, 1946, when the mercury soared to 38.3 degrees Celsius.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi remained in the 'satisfactory' category for the 12th consecutive day on Monday, the cleanest spell recorded so far this year.

The majority of the city recorded below-normal maximum temperatures as rain lashed the capital early on Monday.

Rajasthan has recorded 126 per cent more rainfall than normal this monsoon, with the spell of rain expected to continue in many parts of the state for the next few days.

A total of 183.5 mm of rainfall has been recorded in the state from June 1 to July 7 this year.

A 12-year-old boy died after a mud house collapsed amid heavy rainfall in Jharkhand's Ranchi district on Monday, an official said.

The IMD also issued an 'orange' alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rain in five other districts of the state.

“The incident took place when the boy was sleeping with his parents inside the mud house which suddenly collapsed on them. The family members were brought out and the boy was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” Sonahatu Block Development Officer Khadesh Kumar said.

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday held a high-level meeting in Gandhinagar to review the conditions of roads, highways, and bridges amid a recent intense spell of rain.

Patel reportedly asked officials to repair the damaged highways, causeways, bridges and roads, including those in rural areas, on a war footing and not wait for the rains to stop.

"In cases where damage has occurred during the defect liability period, the CM said responsibility of the contractor should be fixed and there should be no compromise in the quality of the work," a release from the state government said.

A bridge at Ojri on the national highway leading to Yamunotri in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi was washed away due to a heavy rainfall in the region, officials said.

The incident disrupted road connectivity to Yamunotri, Uttarkashi police said, adding that restoration work is underway.

A portion of the service road in Uttar Pradesh's Noida Sector 100 caved in following heavy rain overnight.

The weather department said that "under the influence of a low-pressure area over southwest Gangetic West Bengal & neighbourhood, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to continue over central and adjoining east India during next 3-4 days with isolated extremely heavy rainfall (≥21 cm) over East Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, interior Odisha on Monday".

The IMD posted the latest weather alert on its X handle, saying that heavy to very rainfall is very likely at isolated places over Chandigarh and Delhi, Assam & Meghalaya, East Rajasthan, Gangetic West Bengal, Gujarat State, Haryana, Jharkhand, Konkan & Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Madhya Pradesh.

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut visited the disaster-affected area of Pangliyur in the Nachan assembly constituency in her Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

"In the flood tragedy that struck Pangliyur village, 9 people from 2 families were swept away, of which 5 people swept away in the flood are still missing. In this critical situation, I met with the affected families and shared in their grief and pain. May God give everyone the strength to bear this sorrow. Relief materials were also provided to the affected families, and

the developmental works for the villagers will be carried out as per their convenience," she said in a post on X.

District Magistrate (Chamoli) Sandeep Tiwari said that the Geological Survey of India has issued a landslide alert for Chamoli subdivision.

"We have instructed all the officials to remain on high alert. Due to heavy rains in Chamoli district, landslides occurred in Nandprayag and Umttha, and the route has now been reopened. The weather is clear today, and the Char Dham Yatra is going on smoothly. At present, 29 rural roads are closed in Chamoli district, and the work of opening them is going on," Tiwari told news agency ANI.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a heavy to very heavy rain alert with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over East Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

Heavy rain lashed several parts of Rajasthan, with Dausa district's Sikrai recording the highest rainfall in the last 24 hours, a spokesperson from the weather department said.

As per the meteorological centre in Jaipur, the highest rainfall of 132 mm was recorded in Sikrai, while light to moderate to heavy rain occurred in some places.

Delhi received heavy showers in the early hours of Monday, resulting in waterlogging issues at several places, including the Mehrauli-Badarpur road.

Meanwhile, IMD issued a yellow alert of thunderstorms, lightning and squalls for all districts in Delhi for Monday.

The IMD has issued heavy rainfall warnings for 16 of 30 districts in Odisha. Heavy to very heavy rainfall was predicted in Keonjhar, Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, and Nuapada.

The weather department's Bhubaneswar centre said that a low-pressure area had formed over Gangetic West Bengal and nearby areas. The heavy rains in parts of Odisha and the state's capital Bhubaneswar were under its impact.

With rains continuing through the night in the Capital, waterlogging was reported in parts of Delhi, including the Mehrauli-Badarpur road. Vehicles were seen wading through the waters on the road, with commuters remaining stranded, as per ANI. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Delhi-NCR on Monday.

Heavy rains have been continuing in Nagaland, leading to flooding in some parts of the state. The rains have claimed three lives, with flight operations being suspended at the Dimapur Airport after the runway and parking areas were inundated. Traffic movement was also disrupted on National Highway 29, connecting Dimapur with Kohima, with landslides blocking parts of the highway.

Rescue operations were underway to trace 30 people who went missing in cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh. Drones and sniffer dogs are also being deployed for the search operations, as per PTI. 

Around 250 personnel from the National and State Disaster Response Forces, Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Home Guards, including locals and administration officials, are involved in the rescue and relief work.

Parts of East Madhya Pradesh witnessed extremely heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours, the IMD said. The state's Bichhia town in Mandla district had received 21 cm rainfall till 8.30 am today.

Parts of Chattisgarh witnessed extremely heavy rainfall on Monday, the IMD stated. The weather department said that Pali town in Korba district had received 26 cm rainfall till 8.30 am today.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar's scheduled visit to the Gurvayur temple in Kerala's Thrissur on Monday was cancelled owing to heavy rains in the district. 

The Vice-President's helicopter, which was travelling to the Sree Krishna College helipad, was forced to return to Kochi due to the heavy downpour, as per ANI. Dhankhar is expected to depart for New Delhi soon.

The IMD has issued flash flood alerts for 12 districts in Jharkhand, including Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Khunti, Ranchi, Bokaro, Saraikela, West and East Singhbhum. The warning will stay in place in 5.30 pm on Monday, as per a bulletin released by the weather department.

The state will witness light to moderate rainfall on Monday, with some places in western and southern parts seeing heavy rain.

Heavy rains in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district and surrounding areas have led to an increase in the water flow of the Alaknanda river, which is currently flowing below the danger mark, according to ANI.