As the southwest monsoon advances across northern India, states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh are grappling with heavy rainfall, waterlogging, and tragic rain-related deaths, prompting central government vigilance amidst El Nino concerns.
Key Points
- Southwest monsoon has advanced across northern states, causing significant disruption and rain-related fatalities.
- Himachal Pradesh reported three deaths and widespread road blockages, power, and water supply disruptions.
- Rajasthan experienced heavy rainfall, leading to waterlogging in urban areas and hospitals, with forecasts for more torrential rain.
- Uttar Pradesh saw scattered rainfall, with some areas receiving above-normal rain while others faced deficits.
- The Union Home Minister confirmed the Centre is monitoring the situation, addressing potential drought conditions due to El Nino.
Southwest monsoon advanced further over the northern states on Friday, resulting in blocked roads, waterlogged streets and rain-related deaths.
Rajasthan witnessed widespread rainfall, while moderate rains lashed Himachal Pradesh, and it was uneven across Uttar Pradesh.
Cloudy skies shrouded the national capital Delhi a day after the monsoon arrived in the city, leading to muggy and humid conditions.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Centre is continuously monitoring the situation arising out of below-normal rainfall and "potential drought conditions" in certain parts of the country due to the 'El Nino' effect.
He has directed the agriculture and other ministries concerned to remain "vigilant", according to a government statement.
Monsoon Impact In Himachal Pradesh
Three rain-related deaths were reported in Himachal Pradesh in the 24 hours from 4 pm on Thursday. Two people were reportedly electrocuted in Kangra and Shimla districts, while another individual died after slipping from a height in Mandi district.
Moderate rains that lashed the state led to blocking of 49 roads, and the disruption of three power transformers and 23 water supply schemes, according to the State Emergency Operations Centre.
The Hindustan-Tibet Road, or National Highway-5, which was blocked near Choling in Kinnaur district after heavy rain triggered a massive debris flow early on Friday, was reopened for traffic after the district administration deployed JCB machines to quickly clear the muck.
In Chamba district, authorities rescued around 24 pilgrims stranded since Wednesday near a temple in the Bharmour sub-division, where flash floods triggered by heavy rains had washed away a temporary wooden bridge, cutting off access to the temple.
The Churah administration in Chamba district has advised tourists headed for Sach Pass to avoid staying long, as sudden snowfall could create hurdles.
Heavy Rains And Waterlogging In Rajasthan
Rajasthan witnessed widespread rainfall as the southwest monsoon advanced over more areas in Udaipur, Jaipur and Ajmer divisions.
Several places in eastern Rajasthan witnessed thunderstorms, gusty winds and light to moderate rainfall, while isolated places recorded heavy rainfall. Parts of western Rajasthan also received light to moderate rain accompanied by gusty winds.
Heavy rainfall led to waterlogging in the urban areas and some villages in Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Rajsamand districts.
In Jaipur, rainwater entered the trauma centre of the state's largest government-run hospital -- the Sawai Man Singh hospital. Water entered the emergency ward, ECG room and X-ray section, causing significant inconvenience to patients, attendants and staff.
In Chittorgarh district, overnight rain in Kapasan and Nimbahera tehsils blocked several roads.
The weather department has forecast torrential rain in several districts of eastern and southeastern Rajasthan over the coming days.
Uttar Pradesh And Delhi Weather Update
Uttar Pradesh received 9 per cent above-normal rainfall on Friday, even as the state's cumulative rainfall deficit since June 1 stood at 43 per cent.
Rainfall activity was scattered across the state.
While West Uttar Pradesh recorded 6.4 mm rainfall, 34 per cent above normal, East Uttar Pradesh received 6 mm, 4 per cent below normal.
Budaun received the highest rainfall at 38 mm, followed by Chitrakoot (30 mm), Kanpur City (27.3 mm), Sambhal (22.3 mm), Fatehpur (21.6 mm), Meerut (21.5 mm) and Kheri (20.8 mm).
Moderate rainfall was recorded in Lalitpur, Banda, Kasganj, Balrampur, Hamirpur, Barabanki and Sultanpur.
However, several districts, particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Bahraich, Ballia, Basti, Bhadohi, Deoria, Gonda, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Mau and Mirzapur, recorded no rainfall.
While monsoon arrived in Delhi a day before, the city remained under cloudy skies on Friday, with the maximum temperature settling at 35.8 degrees Celsius.
According to the IMD, the Safdarjung weather monitoring station recorded 0.8 mm rainfall and the Ridge received 0.3 mm, while Palam and Ayanagar recorded trace rainfall.
Despite the lower-than-normal maximum temperature, the "feels-like" temperature was 46.2 degrees Celsius, indicating muggy conditions due to high humidity. The relative humidity was 83 per cent at 8.30 am and 73 per cent at 5.30 pm.
Monsoon Activity In Kashmir And Other Northern States
In Kashmir Valley, Baltal and Nunwan, the twin base camps for the Amarnath Yatra, received rains early in the morning, while other higher reaches also received intermittent rains. However, the maximum temperature remained higher than the normal for this time of the season at most places.
Among the other northern states, the weather remained generally dry during the day in Punjab and Haryana.
