As the monsoon intensifies across the country, the IMD has forecast rain and thunderstorms across several parts. Alerts citing heavy to very heavy rainfall over parts of northwestern and northeastern,; central and eastern India have been issued. Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds have also been forecast in several states.
An orange alert has been issued for East Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Madhya Pradesh. The IMD, Patna, has issued a Yellow Alert for more than 20 districts until August 13, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, and western Rajasthan. These areas may receive between 64.5 to 115.5 mm of rain, for which a yellow alert has been issued. More than 15 states have been issued a yellow alert as intense showers threatened waterlogging, landslides, thunderstorms and lightning.
Southern states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana are likely to witness rains accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds.
On August 10, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature among the plains at 40.4 degrees Celsius, while Haflong in Assam recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 18 degrees Celsius.
Farmers have been advised to protect crops by creating passage for excess water drainage.
Harvested crops, seeds, grain and farm equipment should be moved to elevated, dry and secure locations. Farmers in areas expecting strong winds should provide support to banana, papaya and vegetable crops.