Life came to a standstill in Delhi-NCR on Friday after extremely heavy rainfall that lashed the region, causing waterlogging and disrupting vehicular movement in many parts.
The intensity of the showers are expected to reduce in the capital on Saturday, but the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised people to remain cautious, issuing an alert.
According to the meteorological department, Delhi recorded its after it received 127 mm of rainfall during the first seven days of the month. It said the extremely heavy rainfall was caused by a low-pressure area over southwest Uttar Pradesh and a western disturbance.
Though the intensity of the rainfall will reduce on Saturday, the wet spell will likely continue till August 10, it said.
“The widespread rainfall over Delhi since yesterday has been influenced by the active monsoon trough, which continues to pass through Delhi and other parts of north and east India before extending into the east-central Bay of Bengal. Rainfall activity over Delhi is expected to decrease from tomorrow, with light rain likely over the city during the next two days,” an IMD official said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Alert for 14 other states; WFH in Gurugram
The weather department has also issued an alert for 14 other states for Saturday, urging people to stay alert. Like Delhi, Rajasthan will continue receiving heavy to very heavy showers till August 10, while moderate to heavy rainfall will also take place in Bharatpur, Jaipur, Kota, Ajmer, and Udaipur divisions.
In Haryana’s Gurugram, a work from home (WFH) advisory was issued and people were advised to avoid unnecessary travel after a red alert was issued. An orange alert has also been issued for Himachal Pradesh till August 11, which indicates heavy to very heavy rains. Wet spell is also likely to continue in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.
Meanwhile, in the south, the weather department has issued a red alert for four districts of Kerala – Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad and Kozhikode – predicting extremely heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours. Heavy to very heavy rainfall might also lash isolated parts of Odisha, eastern Madhya Pradesh and south interior Karnataka.
On other hand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, gangetic West Bengal, Haryana, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, central Maharashtra, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura will receive heavy rainfall on Saturday.