Heavy rain, lightning kill dozens in northern India
39 died in UP from lightning in the last five days: Officials; subways and underpasses in Gurugram closed amid heavy rain; Delhi-jaipur expressway waterlogged
Hazardous weather has killed at least 36 people in northern India over the past 24 hours, including 12 who were struck by lightning, officials said as they warned of more heavy downpours in the coming days.
Across the northern state of Utar Pradesh, at least 24 people died ater their homes collapsed amid unrelenting rains, Relief Commissioner Ranvir Prasad said.
Mohamed Usman, 15, was on his friend’s roof in the city of Prayagraj when lightning struck on Friday evening, killing him instantly.
His friend Aznan, who goes by one name, was injured and is being treated in a hospital.
“As soon as they set foot on the roof, they were hit by lightning and my son died,” said Mohammad Ayub, Usman’s father.
Officials said 39 people in the state have died from lightning in the last five days, prompting authorities to issue new guidelines for how people can protect themselves during a thunderstorm.
Incessant rain continued to lash Gurugram for the third day on Saturday leading to severe waterlogging and disrupting traffic in several areas.
Owing to the downpour, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has closed all underpasses and subways for non-motorised transport (NMT), and pedestrians for public use till the rains last.
A pedestrian underpass at Rajiv Chowk had witnessed heavy water logging which is yet to be cleared.
Meanwhile, the rainfall has resulted in waterlogging on the Delhi-jaipur expressway, Manesar, Begumpur Khatola and Kherki Daula.
The areas affected included Udyog Vihar, Hanuman Chowk, Sector 17/18 Road, Sector 22, Sector 23 exit, Gurugram bus stand, Sanjay Gram road, Sector 12 market, Sector 10 hospital, Sector 10 road, parts of Palam Vihar, Atul Kataria Chowk, Old-delhi Gurugram Road, Mayfield Garden, Sushant Lok, Parts of Sector-30, Sector-42, Sector-34 and Narsingpur.
As per the rainfall data shared by the district administration, the Gururgam tehsil on Saturday till 8.00 am received 54 mm rainfall, Kadipur 46 mm, Harsaru 46 mm, Wazirabad 40 mm, Badshahpur 40 mm, Sohna 111 mm, Manesar 77 mm, Pataudi 152 mm and Farrukkhnagar 98 mm of rain.
The traffic police Gurugram also issued an advisory for commuters to avoid any traffic snarl on the Delhi-jaipur expressway.
“Commuters on the Delhi-jaipur expressway from Delhi-gurugram to Manesar, Rewari and Jaipur side are requested to follow alternate routes like Golf Course Extension Road, Vatika Chowk and Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) to reach their destination.
Similarly, inner-city commuters may follow Rajiv Chowk to Vatika Chowk and the SPR route. This way is free from water logging and they will be able to avoid the slowdown of Traffic at Narsingpur water overflow on the Highway and service lanes. Traffic police will be there to facilitate your easy flow, read the advisory.
However, the district administration and GMDA claimed that the rainwater has been flushed out from several locations but the traffic movement on the Delhi-jaipur expressway and inner roads of the city was severely hit due to rain.
The Meteorological (MET) department on Saturday forecast partly cloudy sky with light rain in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.
Separately, an official of the MET department in J&K has said that partly cloudy sky with possibility of light rain is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours.
Srinagar recorded 16.6 degrees Celcius, Pahalgam 10.8 and Gulmarg 8 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature on Saturday morning.
Lightning strikes are common during India’s monsoon season, which runs from June to September.
Colonel Sanjay Srivastava, whose organisation Lightning Resilient India Campaign works with the Indian Meteorological Department, said that deforestation, the depletion of bodies of water, and pollution all contribute to climate change, which leads to more lightning.
Global warming has also increased the frequency of lightning, said Sunita Narain, director general at the Center for Science and Environment. A 1-degree-celsius rise in temperature increases lightning by 12 times.