After Maha floods, IMD predicts heavy downpour in 15 Northern states till Aug 1

After heavy downpours in parts of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, the South West Monsoon is inching up in the northern parts of the country and at least 15 states are likely to receive heavy rainfall till August 1. In its weather forecast report, the country’s weather forecaster Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the next 72 hours in a total of 15 states in the North, the Indian Express reported.

Which states are on the SW monsoon radar?
For Thursday, the weather department has said there is a huge likelihood of isolated extreme rainfall in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The intensity of the developing rain-like conditions in these states can be gauged from the fact that IMD has predicted that rainfall in these regions could be up to the range of 200 mm on a single day. The IMD said that Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh can receive anything between 64 mm and 204 mm of rainfall during the period. What is fuelling the monsoon is the cyclonic circulation or low pressure lying area in North Pakistan which is in the neighbourhood of Punjab. The IMD also said that the cyclonic circulation is converging with the Western branch of the monsoon trough creating conditions for extremely heavy downpour.

The IMD also said that the influence of the rain-like condition will also prevail in the Eastern states and central India including Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand among others. These states are expected to receive up to 115 mm of rainfall during the next 72 hours. It also added that rainfall in the eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Chhattisgarh will also continue till Saturday before coming to a halt.

In what appears to be a positive development, the IMD has said that the bountiful rains are also expected to take place in the Western Madhya Pradesh along with arid state of Rajasthan which normally are considered to be drier regions. The weather report also mentioned that the monsoon conditions will continue to prevail in the Konkan, Goa and Madhya Maharashtra region which has faced the onslaught of heavy floods and waterlogging in the past few days.

Can floods inundate more states?
In the recent floods in Maharashtra and few adjoining areas in Goa and Karnataka, more than 180 people lost their lives, the Indian Express reported. With the IMD forecasting heavy rainfall in the northern parts of the country, fears have risen about possible flood-like situation in the Northern regions. Traditionally, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and some parts of Uttar Pradesh are considered to be one of the most flood-prone areas in the country as these regions lie on the floodplains of a large number of Himalayan rivers and their tributaries. Chances of flash floods-sudden rainfall in an extremely short span of time- can also wreak havoc in the urban areas of the states. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh which have a seismically active mountainous relief are also vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes and cloudbusting events.