RED ALERT in Kerala, Assam, Arunachal and others as Delhi braces for thunderstorm today; IMD's weather forecast here

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Kerala and several north-eastern states for May 30. Under the influence of upper air cyclonic circulation currently lying over west Rajasthan and another over the northern parts of central Uttar Pradesh, several parts of northwest India will witness widespread thunderstorms and gusty winds over the next few days.

IMD in its latest weather bulletin said extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh on May 30. The weather department also predicted extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala May 30. Visuals from Kerala's Kottayam show heavy rain and strong winds wreak havoc, causing waterlogging and disrupting life in many areas of the district.

"Isolated heavy rainfall also likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad on 30th & 31st, Himachal Pradesh on 31st may & 01st June, Uttarakhand during 30th May -02nd June," the press release dated May 29 states.

Notably, an orange alert is in place in Jammu and Kashmir, in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and parts of West Bengal. IMD noted possibility of dust storm on May 30 at isolated places over West Rajasthan.

The weather agency forecasted possibility of isolated heavy rainfall likely in Coastal Karnataka on May 31 and June 1. Meanwhile, South Interior Karnataka may witness fresh wet spells on May 30 while Kerala may see heavy showers on June 1 and 2. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka on May 30 and in Kerala on the subsequent day.

Thunderstorm in Delhi

IMD issued an orange alert for the national capital - Delhi for May 30, a day after the city received light showers. Lightning, thunderstorms and strong winds may accompany the weather phenomenon.

The Regional Meteorological Department Delhi issued a nowcast warning at 8:00 am stating, “Very Light rainfall/drizzle (30-40 Km/h gusty winds) is very likely to occur at isolated places of Delhi ( Narela, Bawana, Alipur, Kanjhawala, Rohini, Mundaka, Jafarpur, Nazafgarh), NCR ( Bahadurgarh) Kaithal, Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Loharu, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Rewari, Narnaul, Bawal, Nuh (Haryana) Deoband (U.P.) Sadulpur, Pilani, Bhiwari, Jhunjunu, Tizara, Khairthal, Kotputli, Alwar (Rajasthan) during next 2 hours.”