Monsoon may arrive tomorrow, IMD warns of rain in eight dists
Bhubaneswar: The southwest monsoon is likely to hit the state in the next three days, the India Meteorology Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The official date of arrival of the monsoon in Odisha is Thursday.
A low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal triggered pre-monsoon showers across the state in the past few hours. The IMD said most parts of Odisha would see moderate to heavy rainfall in the next few days.
“The southwest monsoon is likely to hit Odisha by Friday. The conditions are favourable for the advancement of the monsoon. The low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a well-marked low pressure and cause heavy to very heavy rain in the southern and northern parts of the state,” said H R Biswas, director of IMD’s regional centre in Bhubaneswar. “If the date of monsoon’s arrival varies between three and seven days of the official date, we call it normal,” he pointed out.
The low pressure has made conditions favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and coastal Andhra Pradesh, parts of Bay of Bengal, the northeastern states, Sikkim, some parts of Odisha and gangetic West Bengal in the next 48 hours, the IMD bulletin said.
The IMD has issued yellow warning (asking for preparedness) of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Kandhamal and Kalahandi on Thursday and Friday.
In the past 24 hours, Akhupada in Bhadrak district recorded the state’s highest rainfall of 76 mm, followed by Mundali in Cuttack (65.4 mm).
In the wake of the formation of the low pressure over the Bay, and the subsequent rainfall warning, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena has asked all collectors to remain alert and closely monitor the situation. The collectors have been asked to keep the district administration alert and in readiness to meet any eventuality, the SRC said in an order.
The IMD has also cautioned fishermen against venturing into the sea on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as winds of speed 40-50 kmph are likely to blow off the state’s coast.
“As per earlier predictions of the IMD, the monsoon will be normal (around 103%) in central India, under which Odisha falls. It will take a week to cover the whole state, starting from southern Odisha and moving towards Sundargarh and Jharsuguda, covering interior and coastal Odisha gradually,” Biswas added.