&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IMD issues nationwide rain alert, warns of thunderstorms, hailstorms & gusty winds across multiple regions")
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a nationwide weather alert on Saturday, predicting widespread rainfall along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds across multiple regions in the next few days. In its latest weather update, the agency reported increased weather activity across eastern, central, and northeastern parts of the country, warnings of heavy rainfall, thundersqualls, and possible hailstorms.
Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are expected to receive widespread rainfall from March 21 to 24, with isolated areas likely to see heavy to very heavy rainfall on March 21. Parts of Gangetic West Bengal may experience thundersqualls with wind speeds reaching up to 80 kmph, while Odisha could see gusty winds up to 70 kmph along with chances of hailstorms, according to the IMD.
Northeastern region & Northwest are likely to see wet weather
In the northeastern region, states like Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura are likely to witness fairly widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds. Meanwhile, Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh may receive isolated heavy rainfall on March 24. In eastern and central India, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, scattered rainfall along with strong winds is expected over the coming days.
Northwest India is also expected to see fresh wet weather, with light to moderate rain and snowfall predicted in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on March 23. East Uttar Pradesh may experience fairly widespread rainfall with winds reaching up to 40 kmph.
IMD Scientist Akhil Shrivastava told news agency ANI, "A large-scale thunderstorm activity is currently being witnessed across India. In Delhi, rainfall activity occurred yesterday, resulting in a significant drop in maximum temperatures. Our forecast indicates that similar intermittent rainfall activity is likely to occur during the evening hours today. However, this activity is expected to subside in Delhi starting tomorrow, with the probability of rain decreasing from tomorrow onwards."
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"While conditions are mainly cloudy today, they are expected to become partly cloudy tomorrow. Compared to yesterday, a slight further decline of about 2-3°C may be observed in maximum temperatures today. Nevertheless, temperatures are expected to begin rising again after tomorrow," he said.
Shrivastava further noted that an 'Orange Alert' had been issued for regions including eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and parts of West Bengal due to expected thunderstorms, gusty winds, and possible hailstorms. "Wind speeds in eastern India may reach 60 to 70 kmph, posing potential risks," he said.
Meanwhile, southern states and parts of Maharashtra are also likely to experience scattered rainfall; however, hot and humid conditions might prevail over coastal Karnataka, Goa and Kerala.
