IMD issues ‘very heavy rainfall' warning for Uttarakhand, Himachal and UP
Similar forecasts have also been made for Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the next five days, with isolated extremely heavy rain over Kerala and the ghat areas of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to continue over Northeast and adjoining eastern India in the next seven days. Subdued rainfall activities are also likely to occur over central India in the next 6-7 days, the IMD has said.
The western end of the monsoon trough is lying north of its normal position at mean sea level and the eastern end is running near the Himalayan foothills. There is an upper air cyclonic circulation over southwest Bay of Bengal off the northern coast of Tamil Nadu in lower and middle tropospheric levels, tilting southward with height. An upper air cyclonic circulation is also lying over the Rayalaseema belt and another south Kerala and neighbourhood in lower tropospheric levels.
'An east-west trough is now running from southern parts of eastcentral Arabian Sea to central parts of south Bay of Bengal in lower and middle tropospheric levels tilting southward with height,' the IMD said.
The Met department further said a western disturbance is impacting the Himalayan region, while a trough is running from northwest Uttar Pradesh to northeast Arabian sea in lower tropospheric levels. An upper air cyclonic circulation is also likely to form over south Bangladesh and its neighbourhood around August 8.
Under the influence of these systems, extremely heavy rainfall (≥21 cm) is likely at isolated places over West Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand between Tuesday and Wednesday; isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh till August 11; Jammu-Kashmir on August 6; Punjab on August 10 and 11; Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh on August 6, 10, 11; East Uttar Pradesh between August 5 and 6 and 11 with very heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, East Uttar Pradesh between August 5 and 6.
The weather department has also predicted light to moderate rainfall at many places, accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning over the western Himalayan region and areas over the plains in the next seven days.
During the past 24 hours, heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy showers (≥21 cm) have been recorded at isolated places over Uttarakhand, western Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Heavy to very heavy rainfall (7-20 cm) has been recorded at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Tripura; heavy rainfall (7-11 cm) at isolated places over West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, south interior Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Meghalaya, eastern Uttar Pradesh and northwest Madhya Pradesh.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Constructions added to climate crisis woes
The series of suspected cloudbursts that hit three locations near Harsil, a village between Uttarkashi and Gagotri in Uttarakhand, was triggered by the monsoon trough being more north than it usually is at this time of the year, and accentuated by a cyclonic system over Bihar. according to experts. Glaciers are melting and the debris from the glaciers are flowing with the river water. (PTI photo) According to Uttarkashi district administration, at least 20 people are missing and about 80-90 buildings have been damaged as a result of the extreme weather events, likely caused by the climate crisis, and exacerbated by untrammelled construction in the region, including in river beds and on fragile slopes. A status note on Tuesday evening by the Central Water Commission said a series of extreme weather events in the form of suspected cloudbursts occurred in quick succession on Tuesday in the Uttarkashi district, causing widespread damage and potential casualties. The first incident took place in Dharali, near Harshil, around 1:00 pm. The second incident occurred between Harshil and Gangnani (near Sukki Top), around 3:00 pm. And the third incident occurred near Army Camp, Harshil, around 3:30 pm Horrifying videos of multiple buildings, habitations, market areas being washed away in the Bhagirathi Ecosensitive Zone, has once again captured the impact of climate change in the upper reaches of the Western Himalayas. But the experts also said that the impact has been particularly devastating because of the number of constructions on what appears to be the riverbed of Khir Ganga, a tributary of Bhagirathi. Heavy rain, or cloudburst? India Meteorological Department officials said there was no way to confirm if the extreme weather events were 'cloudbursts'. Cloudbursts are very localised phenomena that result in rain of 100mm in an hour. 'There has been extremely heavy rainfall, over 300 mm in parts of Uttarakhand in the past 24 hours. As you can see from the video, extremely heavy rain may have occurred in very high reaches. We have no way to monitor if it was in fact a cloudburst as there are no stations in very high altitude areas. But we know that there was extremely heavy rain,' said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD. 'The monsoon trough has been to the north of its normal position for the past three days causing concentrated, heavy rain only over the Himalayan foothills. When such continued rainfall occurs, in certain areas the soil saturates and water overflows. The water is seen flowing downstream. There is also a cyclonic circulation over Bihar and surrounding regions, accentuating the impact,' he added. The frequency of such events has been increasing. There has been a rise in short span high intensity rain occurrences (mini cloudbursts) along the west coast of India and along the foothills of Western Himalayas between 1969 and 2015 according to 'Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region,' a report by the union ministry of earth sciences published in 2020. 'There is clear evidence that extreme precipitation has increased everywhere including these hilly states. This is a clear signal of global warming. This heavy rain and flash flood is not unexpected. The number of cloudbursts is most certainly going up in the hilly states,' said M Rajeevan, former secretary, ministry of earth sciences and climate scientist. Scientists have also said even if heavy rainfall events do not meet the exact criteria defined, but cause extensive damage such as flash floods and landslides in high altitude areas, they should also be considered cloudbursts. 'The Himalayan region is experiencing higher warming than the global mean. This is known as elevated warming. This can increase cloudbursts, as under warm condition water holding capacity of air increases and strong upward movement of air due to slope increases moisture in the air leads to a cloudburst in mountainous terrain,' said Anil Kulkarni, distinguished visiting scientist, Divecha Center for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science. 'Since 2018 we are seeing a major escalation in extreme weather events and associated disasters. Even before the Kedarnath disaster in 2013, there were two major cloudbursts in Assi Ganga and Ukhimath. But after 2018 we saw a huge spike in landslides in all the valleys. In 2021 there was the Rishi Ganga disaster in which 200 workers were killed in the tunnel after the glacier fell apart. Then there was the Joshimath land sinking, the Silkayara tunnel and major rain disaster in Yamuna valley this monsoon. It is relentless. We are 100% sure that cloudburst frequency has gone up. The impact of cloudburst is also much more devastating now because of the amount of debris involved. Glaciers are melting and the debris from the glaciers are flowing with the river water. This is causing extensive damage every time,'said Mallika Bhanot, environmentalist and member of Ganga Ahvaan, a civil society collective. But there are man made factors making things worse 'Increased development activity in vulnerable regions creates new risks to the mountain community,' said Kulkarni. Indeed, it is important to recognize that the increase in such events in Uttarakhand is not exclusively because of the climate crisis, added Bhaot. ' You can see the anthropogenic signature in every such disaster. In the videos we can see hotels, big buildings right on the river bed. The river will take its route. It is only natural to expect that it will flow freely. Any hindrances to its flow will obviously cause disasters. The massive increase in the number of landslides is again completely linked to road construction on the Char Dham route,' added Bhanot. The government has pushed through this project citing security concerns -- it goes right up to the India-China border -- but there is no denying that it has increased the fragility of already vulnerable hills. NDMA scientists have not ruled out glacier breach/avalanche event: 'We have received a status report from the Ministry of Jal Shakti which says that a suspected cloudburst is likely to have triggered the disasters. IMD had also issued an orange alert for Uttarkashi. We are assessing three probable scenarios. One, there was a cloudburst in the catchment of Khir Ganga. Second, there was prolonged rainfall in the upper reaches of Western Himalayas that saturated the soil and water could not percolate any further. Third, there are 13 large glacial lakes in Uttarakhand and this may be an ice-rock avalanche from one of those lakes. This needs deeper analysis. We will also check if infrastructure played a role in the post disaster assessment depending on the need,' said Dipali Jindal, senior consultant, National Disaster Management Authority. 'These kind of rainfall events were rare and take place once in 20 or 50 years. However nowadays such events are becoming frequent due to climate change. Such mudslide normally happens when there is very heavy rain upstream. In the videos, we can see dense settlements near the river bank. These come in the right of way of the river. We should have a safe zone for buildings, hotels, habitations. Zonation is v important in such regions,' said Manish Shrestha, Hydrologist, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
India Today
9 minutes ago
- India Today
Explained: What's causing relentless rain in Uttarakhand, Himachal, J&K, UP
Several northern states, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, are witnessing unusually heavy rainfall — a direct consequence of interacting weather systems within the monsoon the heart of the ongoing downpour is the monsoon trough, a low-pressure belt that currently runs close to the Himalayan foothills. This trough acts as a convergence zone, drawing in moisture-laden winds from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. As these moist winds meet and rise, they condense to form extensive cloud cover, triggering widespread amplifying the situation further is the presence of an upper-level Western Disturbance (WD), a weather system originating in the Mediterranean that moves eastward over northern India. These disturbances typically bring cooler air and added moisture. When a WD interacts with the monsoon trough, it enhances vertical air movement, particularly due to divergence at higher altitudes. This upper-level divergence allows air to rise more rapidly from the surface, encouraging cloud formation and heavy precipitation. In technical terms, this is a classic case of enhanced convection — where warm, moist air is lifted swiftly into the upper atmosphere, where it cools, condenses, and releases intense combined effect of the monsoon trough at the surface and the upper-level WD has created a weather pattern conducive to persistent, widespread, and intense rain across the Himalayan belt and adjoining plains. This meteorological setup not only increases rainfall totals but also raises the risk of flooding, landslides, and other rain-related hazards, particularly in vulnerable hill are closely monitoring the evolving conditions as the heavy spell continues to batter several parts of North India.- EndsMust Watch
India Today
9 minutes ago
- India Today
Heavy rain alert in Uttarakhand after flash flood fury kills 4; rescue ops on
Heavy rain continued to lash Uttarakhand on Wednesday as rescue operations were ongoing on a war footing after a devastating cloudburst struck the ecologically fragile Uttarkashi district. At least four people have died, nine Army personnel are missing, and scores are feared trapped under debris following a sudden mudslide and flash flood that swept through Dharali village yesterday flash floods: 10 Points advertisementThe disaster unfolded after a cloudburst in the catchment area of the Kheer Ganga river, sending a ferocious wave of water, slush, and debris crashing down the hillsides. At least four were confirmed dead, and dozens feared trapped under debris in Dharali and surrounding areas. Shocking visuals from Dharali, a key stopover en route to the Gangotri shrine, showed torrents of water gushing through the village, burying nearly half of it under rubble and sludge. Another wave of destruction surged down the opposite side of the hill towards Sukki village, officials said. In a video, a car was seen speeding and finally disappearing into the waves that overtook it. People of Mukhba village, famous as the maternal home of Mother Ganga, located in front of Dharali, also started screaming on seeing this heart-rending scene and started praying to God... — IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 5, 2025 Rescue teams battled through heavy rain, hazardous terrain, and multiple road blockages to reach affected areas. The inclement weather severely hampered operations, grounding helicopters and cutting off critical access roads. The weather department has issued a red alert for heavy rain today in several areas, including Haridwar, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar, while other regions remain under an orange alert. #WATCH | Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand: A car has been stuck in the debris ahead of Plasda Chowki near Plasda (Narendranagar) amid continuous heavy rainfall in the area. (Source: Tehri Police) — ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2025 In light of the severe weather warning, schools and colleges in Dehradun, Nainital, Tehri, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Champawat, Pauri, Almora, and Bageshwar districts will remain closed. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who cut short a visit to Andhra Pradesh, returned to Dehradun and held an emergency review meeting last evening. "Our priority as of now is to save lives," he said, instructing district authorities to expedite search and relief efforts and ensure essential supplies are rushed to affected areas. Landslides have blocked 163 roads across the state, including five national highways, seven state highways, and two border roads, impeding access for rescue personnel to the remote affected area, roughly 140 km from the state capital, Dehradun. #WATCH | Uttarakhand | Visuals from the area en route to the ground zero of the Uttarkashi cloudburst incident. — ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2025 advertisementIn response to the catastrophe, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has decided to deploy its first-ever team of cadaver dogs to assist in locating those feared dead. A pair of these specialised dogs will be airlifted from Delhi. Three NDRF teams, each comprising 35 rescuers, have already been dispatched to the incident site from various locations within Uttarakhand, with two more teams awaiting airlift from the Dehradun airport. VIDEO | Uttarkashi: Rescue teams reach near Bhatwari where the cloudburst incident occurred yesterday. They are waiting for the collapsed road to reopen to reach ground zero to begin their operations. More details are awaited. (Full video available on PTI Videos -... — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 6, 2025 The incessant rain has also caused rivers to swell across the state. In Rudraprayag district, the Alaknanda river is flowing close to the danger mark, leading to the temporary postponement of the Kedarnath Dham pilgrimage for safety reasons. The Gomti and Sarayu rivers are in spate in Bageshwar,, and persistent downpour has been reported in Kotdwar and other hilly areas. - EndsMust Watch
