A red alert was issued in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh whereas an orange alert was issued in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh for the next few days. 

“Some Record-breaking rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh during 8-12 July 2023,” the weather department said on its official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

For Odisha, the IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in several parts of the state for the next two days and also issued an advisory to fishermen not to venture into the sea.

IMD scientist HR Biswas told ANI, “Several districts are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall in the next 2 days. In the next 24 hours, heavy rainfall is likely in North Odisha districts and other districts. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea.”

The Odisha government on Wednesday announced that all schools and Anganwadis in 12 of the 30 districts will remain closed.

For Madhya Pradesh, the Met department warned of flooding on Thursday due to heavy rainfall. 

“Red Alert for Madhya Pradesh, saying that the state is likely to get Heavy to Very Heavy with Extremely heavy rainfall on 3rd August with East Madhya Pradesh likely to get Extremely heavy rainfall on 2nd August as well,” the IMD said on X.

On July 31, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that India is expected to record normal rainfall during the second half (August-September period) of the monsoon season following excess precipitation in July.

“Though the country is expected to gauge normal rainfall in August and September, it is likely to lean towards the lower side (94 per cent to 99 per cent) of the normal (422.8 mm),” Mohapatra said at a press conference.

The Met department said EL Nino conditions have failed to impact the performance of the annual rain-bearing wind system so far.

Earlier, the IMD had said El Nino may affect the second half of the southwest monsoon.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)

Updated: 02 Aug 2023, 11:44 PM IST