Heavy rain alert for northern and eastern India in the next few days: IMD

NEW DELHI: The national forecaster has issued a ‘red alert’ for torrential rainfall over northeast India and an ‘orange alert’ for parts of northern India in the next few days.
The red alert advises people to take action, while the orange alert tells them to be prepared.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that a low pressure area of the monsoon winds being south of its normal position, bringing heavy rain with it between July 18 and July 21.

Forecast for heavy rain over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi comes as a huge relief for these regions, as they have seen deficient rainfall. Since the monsoon season started on June 1, the northwest subdivision has seen 17% below normal rainfall.

For the month of July alone, the same figure looks much worse at 31% below normal.

On the other hand, the red alert for the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and sub-Himalayan West Bengal is worrisome as the region has seen widespread flooding over the past week that has claimed dozens of lives in Assam.

"The intense spell over NE India may accentuate existing flood conditions and also lead to landslides in some areas of NE states and Sub-Himalayan WB & Sikkim," said the alert by the IMD.