IMD alerts: Besides Kerala, heavy rain with lightning and hailstorm forecasted in 16 states/UTs till Oct 19

Even as the monsoon has withdrawn from many parts of India, rain has been lashing some states and Union territories (UTs) in the country. A total of five districts in Kerala are on red alert for Saturday, while an orange alert has been issued in at least seven other districts as well. Meanwhile, several people lost their lives in Kerala’s Idukki, while many are missing following multiple incidents of landslides in Kottayam.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought the Indian Air Force’s help in the rescue operation.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest bulletin has predicted more rain not only for Kerala but also 16 additional states and UTs, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, among other regions.

Also Read | 10 killed, 18 missing as heavy rain pounds Kerala

The rain in all the aforementioned regions and more will be triggered due to a low-pressure area. According to the latest bulletin by the IMD, a low-pressure area lies over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Kerala. Another low-pressure area lies over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and its nearby areas. “[This] low-pressure area/remnant cyclonic circulation is likely to move generally northwestwards towards west Uttar Pradesh,” the IMD bulletin adds.

Apart from these low-pressure areas in India, “a western disturbance lies as a cyclonic circulation over southern parts of Afghanistan and its neighbourhood.”

Here are the key IMD alerts for all the 17 states and UTs owing to these conditions:

1. Due to the low-pressure area over Arabian Sea and Kerala, isolated extremely heavy downpours are likely over the southern state and Mahe in Puducherry for the rest of the day. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected over south interior Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry for the rest of the day.
2. The IMD bulletin said that due to the low-pressure area over Andhra Pradesh and its adjoining areas, “isolated heavy rainfall” is very likely over coastal parts of the southern state and Chhattisgarh for the rest of Saturday. The same weather alert has been issued in Odisha between October 16 and 18; over Maharashtra’s Vidarbha for October 17, and Madhya Pradesh on October 17 and 18.
3. Meanwhile, the western disturbance over Afghanistan will trigger light to moderate rain at most regions with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places over Uttarakhand between October 17 and 19. The IMD has issued the same weather alert for Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for October 17 and 18, and over Haryana, Chandigarh and east Rajasthan on October 17.
4. In some states and UTs of northwest India, rain will be accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning on October 17 and 18. The IMD bulletin stated that hailstorm is likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh on October 17, and over Uttarakhand on October 17 and 18.
5. In Uttar Pradesh, strong surface winds between 30 and 40 kmph have been forecasted on October 17 and 18.