Weather Update: IMD issues orange alert of very heavy rainfall in Himachal tomorrow, flash flood risk in 7 districts

Weather Update: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued an 'orange' alert of very heavy rain in parts of 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh and cautioned of moderate flash flood risk in isolated parts of the state in the next 24 hours. 

Issuing an orange alert for the 10 districts of the state, the weather department said Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Una may face very heavy rainfall for the next 24 hours till Wednesday evening.

The weather office cautioned of moderate flash flood risk in isolated parts of the state's seven out of 12 districts —Kangra, Sirmaur, Chamba, Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur and Mandi — in the next 24 hours.

Residents and travellers in the state have been advised to stay alert and follow safety guidelines. The weather conditions are expected to impact daily activities significantly and may lead to potential flooding.

Speaking to newswire ANI, an IMD scientist, Naresh Kumar said, “There can be very heavy rainfall in West Rajasthan today. Isolated heavy rain is expected in Punjab and Haryana in the next two days. Very heavy rainfall is also expected in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Heavy rainfall is predicted in northeastern states in the next five days. Delhi -NCR will receive light to moderate rain in the coming 3 days.”

The weather agency noted that the monsoon trough is shifting northward, increasing the moisture flow in the eastern and southwestern regions. This shift will likely result in heavy rainfall, particularly in the Kangra, Hamirpur, and Chamba districts.

"The department has consequently issued an orange alert for these areas on August 7 and 8 due to the anticipated severe weather," Dr Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of IMD, told ANI.

"We have already issued an advisory for rain and floods in the region," Srivastava said. "Cloud cover is prevalent across the state, leading to widespread fog. Light rainfall is currently being observed in Shimla city and surrounding areas," he added.

The Met Department also predicted heavy rainfall in West Rajasthan today and light to moderate rain in Delhi-NCR in the coming 3 days.

Meanwhile, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the agency's heavy rainfall forecasts had improved by 30 to 40 per cent over the past five years and should be used to minimise the loss of lives and property during extreme precipitation events.

"There has been a 30 to 40% improvement in the India Meteorological Department's heavy rainfall prediction accuracy over the last five years, and it could further improve by 10 to 15% in the next five to seven years with the augmentation of the observation network and numerical modelling systems," PTI quoted Mohapatra as saying.