North India waits for monsoon
New Delhi: Sultry weather conditions prevailed in north India on Saturday even as some areas received rains on account of easterly winds which have made conditions favourable for the advancement of the much-awaited monsoon in the region.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon is likely to cover parts of north India, including Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, in a day.
Hot weather conditions continued to prevail in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab even though some parts received rains.
Narnaul city in Haryana recorded a maximum temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above the normal.
Among other places in the state, Hisar experienced hot weather at 41 degrees Celsius while Rohtak, Gurgaon and Bhiwani's maximum temperatures were recorded at 40.1 degrees Celsius, 40.7 degrees Celsius and 40.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
In Punjab, the maximum temperatures of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala settled at 36.5, 37.1 and 38 degrees Celsius respectively. Amritsar received 16 mm of rain.
A massive landslide triggered by heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district closed the arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway for traffic leaving over 500 vehicles stranded.
Parts of Rajasthan witnessed light to moderate rainfall as conditions have become favourable for the advancement of the monsoon.
Jaipur, Bundi, Tonk and Dabok recorded 23.4, 17.5, 2 and 0.8 mm rainfall respectively. Bikaner was the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 43.5 degrees celsius, followed by Ganganagar and Pali at 43.3 degrees Celsius and 43 degrees Celsius respectively.
In central India, the monsoon has become active in Madhya Pradesh after a gap of around 10 days, as large parts of the state received light showers that provided some relief to people from sultry weather conditions.
Senior meteorologist in IMD Bhopal office, P K Saha, said the state is expected to receive good rainfall between July 11 and 16.
"The monsoon is slowly becoming active in Madhya Pradesh after a break. The south-westerly winds are growing strong in the Arabian Sea, which is bringing forth moisture to the state," he said, adding a that low-pressure area is likely to form over the north-west Bay of Bengal on Sunday which is going to further bring moisture in the state.
Kumbhraj town in Guna received 72 mm of rain, while the Sarai area in Singrauli recorded 66.4 mm of showers in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Saturday.
Down south, a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall on Sunday has been issued in Kannur and Kasaragod districts in Kerala which has been receiving a copious amount of rainfall.
The IMD has also issued an orange alert for Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts and a Yellow alert for Palakkad, Thrissur, Idukki and Ernakulam districts.
Kottayam got 15 cm of rain till Saturday 10 am while Thiruvananthapuram district got 1.7 cm of precipitation and Ernakulam 10.7 cm.
"Strong wind with speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely along and off Kerala coast. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these sea areas," said a weather warning issued for fishermen for the Kerala coast till July 13.
The easterly winds have made conditions favourable for the advancement of the southwest monsoon and it is likely to cover parts of north India, including Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, in a day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
