Heavy to very heavy rainfall predicted in THESE states till July 3; IMD issues alerts

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country's central weather forecasting agency, on Thursday predicted 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' in several states till July 3. In its latest weather update, the department said conditions are favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon into the remaining parts of the country during the next two days. The monsoon is yet to reach some parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab.  

In the northwest region, heavy rainfall is likely over Himachal Pradesh and East Rajasthan till July 3, and over Uttarakhand and West Rajasthan on June 30.

The IMD has issued a 'yellow' alert for some districts of Uttarakhand and one district - Mandi - of Himachal till July 3. For Rajasthan, the Met has issued 'yellow' and 'orange' alerts for some districts till July 1. The weather department uses four colour codes for weather warnings – 'green' (no action needed), 'yellow' (watch and stay updated), 'orange' (be prepared), and 'red' (take action).

In the central part, the weather department has predicted 'fairly widespread' to 'widespread rainfall' with isolated heavy rainfall over Madhya Pradesh till July 1. In the last past few days, MP received heavy downpours, with some districts even getting struck by the "extremely heavy" rainfall. The IMD had issued 'yellow' and 'orange' alerts for the state for Thursday, June 28.

The IMD has also predicted isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Konkan, Goa, and the Ghat areas of central Maharashtra during the next five days and

Gujarat during the next two days. "Isolated extremely heavy rainfall also very likely over Konkan and Gujarat on 29th June," the department said in its bulletin on Thursday.

In the eastern and northeastern regions, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh are predicted to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall during the next five days. For West Bengal, the IMD has issued an 'orange' alert for five districts - Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and Alipurduar - and a yellow alert has been issued in the rest of the state on Friday, June 29.    

In the southern region, rainfall is likely over parts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh till July 3. "Isolated heavy rainfall also likely over Coastal Karnataka and Kerala during next 5 days; Coastal Andhra Pradesh on July 2 and 3 and South Interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on July 3," the IMD said, adding that isolated very heavy rainfall is also likely over Coastal Karnataka and Kerala on July 3. The IMD issued a 'yellow' alert for the entire state barring two districts of Kerala on July 3.  

The weather department has also predicted a cloudy sky with light to moderate rainfall in the national capital in the next five days. Heavy rains lashed parts of the city on Thursday, bringing down the minimum temperature to 23.8 degrees Celsius – four notches below the season's average. The maximum temperature settled at 34.2 degrees Celsius – three notches below the normal. 

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