New Delhi, June 14: Heavy rainfall in several states of north India has thrown normal life out of gear, with the national capital witnessing high pollution levels mainly due to dust storms from Rajasthan. In Delhi, thunderstorm and gusty winds are expected at isolated places on Friday, according to IMD.

According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the winds in Delhi are in the range of 5-6 m/sec and wind direction is West to South West, which is likely to continue over the next three days.  Therefore, dusty conditions will prevail in Delhi over the next three days.

Uttarakhand:

In Uttarakhand, heavy rainfall accompanied by winds lashed Ghansali area near New Tehri and blocked the motorway near Chamilaya Lata on Wednesday. The Public Works Department was on the spot to clear the route and help the stranded people. The rains have also caused water-logging several parts of Uttarakhand’s Chamiyala village. Earlier this month, the Badrinath National Highway was closed at two places due to minor landslides, followed by heavy rains in parts of Uttarakhand.

Bikram Singh, Director of MeT Department, Dehradun informed that the temperature will come down and mild thunderstorm and rainfall is expected in some regions. “We can see squall in areas like Nainital, Dehradun & Haridwar. In some upper areas, people can witness hailstorm too”, he said.

North East India:

The northeastern region of India has received heavy rains since the past week. Heavy rains with gusty winds and thunderstorms in Tripura rendered over 3,500 families homeless in the past 24 hours as the state was lashed by heavy rains. Meanwhile, floods triggered by heavy rains in Tripura and Manipur have rendered thousands homeless.

In Manipur, heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours have triggered flash floods in the Imphal Valley with several low-lying areas in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishenpur districts have been inundated, officials said. According to meteorological (MeT) department, more rain has been forecast over Meghalaya and Assam, with heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Punjab:

According to reports, heat wave swept Punjab with Patiala recording 46.2 degrees Celsius, a record seven notches above the normal limit, the MeT department said. Reports inform that Patiala recorded the season's hottest day as severe heat prevailed there. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a powerful dust storm has hit Chandigarh. Flight operations were suspended at Chandigarh Airport due to poor visibility following the dust storm.

West Bengal:

With heavy monsoon, at least 10 people were killed and several others were injured in incidents of lightning strike in West Bengal. Heavy rainfall in West Bengal caused flood situations in Mizoram, even as heat wave conditions prevailed in north India. The Meteorological (MeT) department has forecast light to moderate rain in some parts of northern India.

Rajasthan:

Rajasthan is facing extremely dry weather conditions, with high temperatures and wind speeds. Churu was the hottest place in Rajasthan with a maximum temperature of 42.3 degrees Celsius with hot weather conditions prevailing in the state, the MeT said.

Himachal Pradesh:

Moderate rainfall occurred at some places with Saloni recording 31 mm rains, followed by Chhatrari 16 mm, Chamba 6 mm and Dharamshala and Jogindernagar 3 mm, the MeT department said. The lower hills of hill state - Himachal Pradesh reeled under scorching heat as day temperatures rose by a few notches. Una in the Shiwalik foothills was hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature at 43.4 degrees Celsius.

Uttar Pradesh:

Rains accompanied by thundershowers and gusty winds are very likely at isolated places in east Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. The western parts of the state are expected to experience a dry weather, the meteorological department informed on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad, Lucknow, Bareilly, Moradabad and Meerut divisions witnessed a rise in day temperatures with Allahabad being the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 44.3 degrees Celsius.

North India reeled under blistering heat with the air quality in Delhi deteriorating beyond the "severe" level because of dust-laden hot winds. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has requested Chief Secretary, Delhi to issue appropriate instructions in the matter to the concerned agencies.

Meanwhile, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) convened an urgent meeting of the Task Force regarding implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) today and issued necessary directions to contain local dust sources. The Task Force has also recommended that public should avoid prolonged exposure.

The IMD in its release on Wednesday had informed that stagnation in further advance of southwest monsoon is likely for the coming one week due to the weakening of the monsoon circulation pattern. As a consequence, rainfall activity is very likely to reduce over interior parts of south peninsula, central and eastern parts of India. But the enhanced rainfall activity over northeastern states is likely to continue during next 3 days.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 14, 2018 03:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).