If you’re planning a quick getaway this week, expect it to look very rainy. Even places like Delhi and Rajasthan, which were experiencing heatwave conditions until last week, are likely to see the first of monsoon showers this week. Whether you’re heading up north to the hills or driving to a hill-station close to Mumbai or Pune, it’s best to keep your umbrellas and rainwear handy at all times. Here’s what to expect from the weather this week:
If you’re heading to the hills
Parts of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been experiencing light snowfall and rain over the past 24 hours. Fresh snowfall was recorded in the Amarnath cave shrine area, Affarwat hills in Gulmarg and Zoji La Pass in Ladakh. Light rain and snow is expected to continue in the regions.
Thunderstorms, along with lightning and gusty winds have been forecasted for parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K and Ladakh. In the Northeast of India, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and sub-Himalayan West Bengal are likely to experience heavy rainfall. Several parts of Assam and Tripura have been experiencing major floods due to heavy rain and high water levels in the Brahmaputra river. Along with the floods, landslides and other rain-related incidents have led to injuries and deaths in districts like Hojai, Nalbari, Bajali, Dhubri, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, and Sonitpur. The railway route connecting Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and the southern part of Assam is currently not functional, and rains have damaged National Highway 6, which connects several Northeast Indian states to the rest of India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Assam on Monday, followed by a yellow alert from Tuesday to Thursday.
If you’re heading to hill-stations like Ooty, Munnar or Coonoor this week, expect heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and cloudy weather. Temperatures are lowest in Ooty—between 10°C and 17°C.
Monsoon is making its way to Delhi, Rajasthan and more
The India Meteorological Department has predicted wet weather in Northwest India this week. Expect scattered to fairly widespread rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan is also expected to experience isolated showers. Temperatures are likely to drop, bringing some respite from the heat in these regions. Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh may also see the beginning of monsoon this week.
In Maharashtra, rainfall has been light so far. But expect the pace to pick up this week, with heavy rainfall predictions throughout the week in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Palghar and Satara.