Weather Update: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued severe weather warnings for various states as heavy monsoon rains are expected to fall on many portions of India in the coming days. Over the next three to four days, heavy to hefty rainfall will occur in the northwest, central, and eastern regions.
The IMD has cautioned that extremely heavy rainfall is expected in a few isolated locations in east Rajasthan, central India, and other eastern states. August 2-4 is predicted to bring heavy rains to the northwest and central regions, with August 2 likely to bring significant rainfall to eastern India.
There is a monsoon trough in place right now, and it is predicted to stay that way for a few days, extending the rainy season in the impacted areas.
The weather service has issued warnings about potential waterlogging in urban areas, crop damage in agricultural fields, and flooding in places that are expected to receive severe rainfall. This follows recent severe flooding in places like Pune, Surat, and New Delhi as well as a cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh.
The IMD has issued a red alert for Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, East Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Maharashtra for August 2, indicating a high risk of bad weather. Orange alerts have been issued for several other states, including northwest India, West Bengal and coastal areas, indicating the possibility of adverse weather conditions.
For August 3, Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Maharashtra are on red alert, while other states, including Uttarakhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, are on orange alert.
The IMD, in a press conference earlier this week, predicted slightly lower rainfall activity in August compared to above-normal rainfall across the country in July.
The weather bureau also said that the cumulative rainfall in August and September, the second half of the country’s monsoon which is crucial for irrigation of standing crops, will be above normal.
The monsoon season, which runs from June to September, brings 75% of India’s annual rainfall, watering crops, filling reservoirs and boosting farm incomes and consumer demand. More than half of India’s arable land is rain-fed and agriculture is the second-largest job-generating sector.
Agriculture growth, which contributes 15% to India’s GDP, fell to 1.4% in FY24 from 4.7% in FY23, mainly due to uneven rains last year, which saw rainfall 6% below normal this season.
This year, above-normal rains are expected to boost agricultural output by 5%.
(With agency inputs)