Heavy rains lash parts of north west, central India
NEW DELHI: Several parts of central and northwest India particularly east Rajasthan are recording extremely heavy monsoon showers leading to flooding and damage to infrastructure. Saiwad in Jaipur district for example recorded 30 cm rain between Saturday and Sunday, possibly the highest rainfall recorded at the station, India Meteorological Department scientists said.
Between June 1 and July 31, northwest India recorded 2% rain deficiency but Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi region recorded 50% excess rain. Delhi recorded 43% excess and Haryana recorded 51% excess during the period.
“As predicted east Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh are recording extremely heavy rains which is likely to continue for the next 2-3 days. Parts of northwest India will also get good rains. Saiwad in Jaipur district has possibly made a historical record with 30 cm rain in 24 hours. There is one low pressure
area south of Delhi which is likely to become less marked while another low-pressure area is likely to move towards east Rajasthan across north Madhya Pradesh. That will bring very heavy rains to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, national weather forecasting centre, IMD.
On Sunday, the Safdarjung Observatory in Delhi recorded 28.2 mm rainfall, while the Ridge station registered 126.8 mm rainfall from 8.30am on Saturday to 8.30am on Sunday, officials said, leading to extensive waterlogging and traffic snarls at several places.
The water level in Yamuna increased after days of heavy rainfall and was recorded at 205.30 meters on Sunday morning, just below the danger mark of 205.33 meters.
According to the officials, over 100 families living in the Yamuna floodplains have been moved to higher areas over the last few days after a flood alert was sounded on Friday.
The water level was recorded at 205.30 metres at the Old Railway Bridge at 9am. On Friday, the Yamuna breached the danger mark and swelled to 205.59 metres by 9pm. It receded to 204.89 metres on Saturday.
Rainfall distribution has been skewed in June and July. Northeast India has a rain deficiency of 13% with Arunachal Pradesh recording a 37% deficiency: Assam and Meghalaya, 24% deficiency, and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura recording 35% deficiency. Gujarat and Kutch region have recorded 32 and 36% deficiency while Kerala and Lakshadweep also have 28 and 49% deficiency.
Overall, the country recorded 1% rain deficiency with 17% excess over peninsular India; 1% excess over central India; 2% deficiency over northwest India and 13% deficiency over northeast India.
A well-marked low-pressure area is lying over southeast Uttar Pradesh and neighbourhood, and is likely to move westwards to east Rajasthan across north Madhya Pradesh and adjoining southwest Uttar Pradesh during next two days. A low-pressure area is also lying over southern parts of Haryana and neighbourhood. It is likely to become less marked during next 24 hours.
The eastern end of the monsoon trough is likely to shift north of its normal position from Sunday night. The western end is very likely to remain to the south of its normal position and active during next 3-4 days. Widespread rain with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is very likely over Madhya Pradesh till August 5. Isolated extremely heavy rain (over 20 cm) is also very likely over East Madhya Pradesh on August 1 and 2.
Widespread rain with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely to continue over East Rajasthan till August 5. Current spell of widespread rainfall activity is very likely to continue over rest parts of North India with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely over Uttarakhand and West Uttar Pradesh on August 1 and 2. Isolated heavy rain is likely over Haryana during till August 5 and Himachal Pradesh till August 4.
IMD is expecting normal to above normal rains over many parts of the country in August. La Nina conditions associated with cooling of Pacific waters is likely to set in September. The latest Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecasting System (MMCFS) forecast indicates neutral ENSO conditions likely to continue up
to July-September season, and August-October onwards cooling of temperatures over equatorial Pacific is likely to enhance and to reach to the La Niña threshold. La Nina, a global meteorological phenomenon is linked to very cold and harsh winters in India and above normal monsoon rains.
“We are expecting above normal rains in some parts of the country because of the cooling of Pacific waters and transition towards La Nina conditions. So there will be good rains. There are also indications of cyclogenesis over north Bay of Bengal in the latter part of the month. There is a trend of reducing rainfall in August in the past 50 years but this year could see good rains,” said OP Sreejith, head, climate monitoring and prediction group, IMD.