The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has light to heavy rainfall in several parts of India in the next few days. While heavy rainfall will continue in Northeastern and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim region, light to moderate showers are likely in Delhi and parts of South India.
Damage to vital NH cuts off access to parts of NE
The National Highway-6, which connects Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and the southern part of Assam with the rest of the country continues to be cut off for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday due to landslides triggered by incessant rains. The single line railway route, which links these states to the rest of the country, also remained cut off for the last 38 days.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma along with Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui accompanied by district administration officials, PWD Engineers and NHAI officials on Sunday inspected the damaged portion of the NH-6 at Lum Shnong in East Jaintia Hills.
An official of the Meghalaya government said that an alternative route has been identified in Lum Shnong, which has been thrown open only for light motor vehicles. The Chief Minister interacted with truck drivers, who have been stranded in the area and assured them that the administration will extend all possible support.
Sangma said that efforts are on to restore the road link in the next 48 to 72 hours, subject to weather conditions. He said that due to continuous rains the restoration work is being hampered but administration is working to ensure that the road communication is restored.
“All efforts are being made to restore the entire damaged portion of the road to ensure accessibility. However, there is a huge challenge, as the rains are continuing. It is only when the rain abates and the flow of water is diverted, the affected area can be restored,” the Chief Minister told the media.
At Lum Shnong, waters from the hills have been gushing through the road, which has damaged the vital National Highway and is affecting the restoration work. According to the official, over 1,000 goods-laden trucks are stranded along both sides of the road, from Assam to Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, the situation in the hill section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in Dima Hasao district of Assam since May 14 remained critical as inclement weather continued to batter the area, affecting the Lumding-Badarpur single line railway route that connects Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and the southern part of Assam with the rest of the country.
According to NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer, Sabyasachi De, in the Lumding Division, train services have been cancelled till June end. He said that breaches had occurred at more than 61 locations in this section, resulting in disruption of the rail communication to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and parts of Assam. Restoration works at 46 locations have already been completed and work at other 15 critical locations is going on in full vigour.
Meanwhile, two police personnel drowned in Assam’s Kampur on Monday. Officer In-charge of Kampur police station Sammujal Kakati and constable Rajiv Bordoloi were swept away due tp floods in the Kapili river in Kampur.
The policemen drowned as they launched an operation to arrest a few culprits in the area. They were part of a four-member team.
IMD Issues Orange Alert for Mumbai, Thane, Predicts Very Heavy Rains Till June 21
The India Meteorological Department on Monday issued an ‘orange alert’ to Mumbai and Thane for very heavy rainfall till June 21. The orange-colour coded warning for heavy rains on June 20-21 was issued for the coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, the IMD said.
The IMD has four-colour coded alerts, namely green (no warning), yellow (watch), orange (alert) and red (warning).
Light Rains Likely in Delhi on Monday
The maximum temperature in the national capital on Sunday settled at 30.7 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal for this time of the season, and the lowest since June 17, 2014, the IMD said. It said light rain may hit the city on Monday.
Delhi recorded 1 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The national capital has gauged 23.8 mm of rainfall against a normal of 31.1 mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts in the country, said an IMD official.
According to IMD, the minimum temperature in the city on Sunday was recorded at 24.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below average for this time of the season. The relative humidity oscillated between 96 per cent and 65 per cent. The IMD has predicted generally cloudy skies on Monday with light to moderate rain/thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds of around 30-40 kmph speed.
The maximum temperature in the city is likely to hover around 32 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature to be around 24 degrees on Monday. The IMD had on Friday said that scattered to fairly widespread rainfall is likely in Delhi in the next four days under the influence of a western disturbance at middle tropospheric levels and of southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea at lower tropospheric levels. It issued a Yellow’ alert, warning of thundershowers or light rain, for four days starting Saturday.
The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings: Green (no action needed), Yellow (watch and stay updated), Orange (be prepared), and Red (take action). The weather is likely to become clear after June 22 with commencing of dry westerly winds, it said, but a steep rise in temperature is not predicted, it added.
G P Sharma, president (meteorology), Skymet Weather said a cyclonic circulation is going to come up over parts of West Bengal, north Odisha, and adjoining Bangladesh, changing the wind pattern in the Indo-Gangetic plains. “This cyclonic circulation will initiate the typical easterly flow which is crucial for the progress of the monsoon towards northwest India. The monsoon will reach Delhi around the usual date (June 27), a day before or a day later,” he said. Last year, the IMD had forecast that the monsoon would arrive in Delhi about weeks before its usual date.
However, it reached the capital only on July 13, making it the most delayed in 19 years.
Monsoon Advances in Gangetic Bengal, Neighbouring States, Heavy Rain Likely in Next 2 Days
The southwest monsoon advanced into most parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar on Sunday, the Met department said, forecasting heavy rain in the next two days. The weatherman said that conditions are favourable for the monsoon’s advancement into the remaining portion of Gangetic Bengal and Jharkhand over the next three days.
With the monsoon setting in, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand are likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday, the weatherman said. The Met has also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.
Thunderstorms with lighting are likely in Kolkata in the next few days. The city sky was overcast throughout the day on Sunday with one or two spells of light rain.
Pre-monsoon Rains in Odisha
Parts of Odisha received moderate pre-monsoon showers on Sunday, while overcast skies enveloped several districts, the Met office said. The northern limit of the monsoon is passing through Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district of southern Odisha. Conditions are favorable for advancement of the monsoon into more areas of the state during the next two-three days, according to a bulletin.
Sambalpur received 39 mm of rain between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, the highest in the state, followed by 34 mm in Nayagarh and 23 mm in Baripada town. There was moderate downpour in Bargarh and Jharsuguda too, while Angul, Bhawanipatna and Keonjhar received light rain, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.
The Met warned of heavy downpour in Kandhamal, Ganjam, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Cuttack districts on Monday, and in many others districts over the subsequent three days. There will be widespread rain during the next five days under the influence of strong southerly and southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal.
Southern India
The IMD Chennai on Sunday predicted heavy rain thunderstorm with moderate rain at isolated places over Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dindigul, Theni, Erode, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Perambalur, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Tirupattur and Vellore districts of Tamilnadu.
“Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places with isolated thunderstorms and lightning over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal area for June 20 to 23,” IMD added.
Two Killed, One Injured in Lightning Strike; Several Areas Receive Rainfall in Gujarat
Two members of a family were killed and one person was injured in a lightning strike in Moti Jagdhar village in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district on Sunday amid rain and thunder in many parts of the state. Bhupati Mavji (25) and his nephew Ravi (10) were killed after lightning struck them in the afternoon when they were returning after completing a job under the MGNREGA scheme in Moti Jagdhar village, a Mahuva police station official said.
“A woman, who was seriously injured in the incident, was shifted to a hospital in Mahuva for treatment,” he added. As many as 57 taluks in Gujarat recorded some rainfall, with Mahuva in Bhavnagar receiving 15 mm rainfall between 10 am and 12 noon on Sunday, as per the State Emergency Operation Centre.
The meteorological department has forecast light to moderate rainfall with heavy rainfall in isolated places in several districts of the state over the next five days.
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