Red alert in MP, Rajasthan; heavy rains to lash Bengal, Bihar over weekend

With monsoon wading in the eastern part of India, a well-marked low-pressure area hangs over the state of West Bengal and is expected to move westwards towards Jharkhand and Bihar, bringing heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning this weekend.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for east and west Madhya Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan, predicting heavy rains over the weekend.

With monsoon wading in the eastern part of India, a well-marked low-pressure area hangs over the state of West Bengal and is expected to move westwards towards Jharkhand and Bihar, bringing heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning this weekend. According to the Skymet weather report, another low-pressure area is also forming over eastern Uttar Pradesh, and it will usher in heavy rainfall across the region over the next three days.

During the past 24 hours, heavy rains lashed the Gangetic plains of West Bengal, leading to inundation in several key parts of the state. Two labourers were killed, at least two others injured, and another four were missing after being swept by the Mamkhola, a rivulet in the Kalimpong hills of north Bengal, as the water level rose due to heavy overnight rains.

Kolkata recorded over 150mm rainfall, with major sections of the city waterlogged throughout the past day. Moderate to heavy rainfall was also witnessed in the northern parts of Odisha, as well as in Jharkhand.

West Bengal will have no respite yet from the rains, according to the Skymet projections. Moderate to heavy rainfall will occur over south Bihar, Jharkhand, north Chhattisgarh, north Madhya Pradesh, and the southern parts of Uttar Pradesh over the next two days. Rainfall activity is also likely to occur across several parts of northeast and eastern Rajasthan, according to the weather forecasting service.

The deep low-pressure area, Skymet predicted, will eventually progress towards the western part of Uttar Pradesh during the next 24 to 48 hours, spreading out the rainfall activity.

Light to moderate rainfall has also been predicted to continue over Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. The southern part of the country, however, is currently looking weak in terms of monsoon projections.

News Credit : Hindustan Times