Punjab and Haryana are on orange alert as heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur between July 20 and 23. Active monsoon conditions are currently prevailing over Northwest India for the next 6-7 days, according to a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on July 18.
Widespread rainfall is expected to occur over most weather stations from July 20 to July 23, while light to moderate rainfall is likely at a few places on July 19 and July 24. The weather agency predicted heavy rainfall over the eastern border areas of Punjab, while the southwestern parts are expected to receive light rainfall.
In Haryana, the north-eastern and south-eastern parts are likely to receive higher rainfall than the western areas.
At a majority of places in Punjab, light rainfall was experienced in the past 24 hours, while a few weather stations received heavy rainfall. Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala and Ropar in Punjab, and Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Nuh and Yamunanagar in Haryana received varying amounts of rain.
The monsoon, which arrived on July 1, has so far brought less rain compared to last year and the long period average, with the region witnessing a 24 per cent deficit this season. IMD has termed the prevailing monsoon activity over Punjab and Haryana as “weak”.
From July 1 till the morning of July 18, Punjab received 61.6 mm of rain against the long-period average, marking a deficiency of 33 per cent. Haryana received 67.9 mm of rain against the LPA of 84.1 mm, which is 19 per cent below normal. Besides, a weather alert has been sounded in Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, and mountainous states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for heavy to very heavy rainfall during July 18-19, along with isolated thunderstorms.
Follow us
