A low-pressure area has formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal, bringing a spell of heavy and very heavy rain across several parts of eastern, central, northern and northeastern India. Odisha and Chhattisgarh are among the areas facing the strongest alerts in the coming days.
Odisha has a very heavy rainfall alert on 23 August, while very heavy rain is forecast there from 23 to 26 August. Chhattisgarh is expected to receive very heavy rain from 23 to 25 August. Heavy rain is also forecast in parts of eastern India during overlapping periods.
Eastern India faces prolonged rain alerts
West Bengal’s Gangetic plain is under a heavy rainfall alert on 23 and 24 August. Jharkhand is expected to see heavy rain from 23 to 27 August, while Bihar has an alert from 24 to 26 August. Bihar is also forecast to receive rain on 23 and 24 August and again from 27 to 29 August.
A broader alert for very heavy rain from 23 to 29 August covers the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. Bihar has a similar alert for 25 and 26 August.
The forecast also identifies localised heavy rain in several areas. Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim may receive it on 25, 27 and 29 August. Gangetic West Bengal is covered on 23 and 24 August, Jharkhand from 23 to 27 August, Bihar from 24 to 26 August, and Odisha on 23 August and from 27 to 29 August.
Northern states included in the weather update
Rain is forecast across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on 23 August. Uttarakhand is expected to receive rain across the state from 23 to 29 August. Eastern Uttar Pradesh has a rainfall alert covering a large part to the entire area from 23 to 25 August.
Other parts of northwest India are also expected to receive rain. Thunderstorms and lightning are possible in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on 23 August, in Uttarakhand from 23 to 29 August, and in eastern Rajasthan from 23 to 26 August.
Central India may see thunderstorms and lightning
The weather update forecasts rain in western Madhya Pradesh on 23 August and from 27 to 29 August, and in eastern Madhya Pradesh on 29 August. Vidarbha may receive rain in some places on the same date.
Wider areas of western Madhya Pradesh may receive rain from 24 to 26 August, eastern Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha from 23 to 28 August, and Chhattisgarh from 23 to 29 August.
Thunderstorms and lightning are forecast in Chhattisgarh, eastern Madhya Pradesh and western Madhya Pradesh from 23 to 27 August. Vidarbha has a similar warning from 23 to 25 August.
Northeastern states also under alert
In the northeast, some parts of Arunachal Pradesh may receive rain on 23 and 24 August, while Assam and Meghalaya have a rainfall forecast for 24 and 25 August. Arunachal Pradesh is expected to see rain from 25 to 29 August.
Assam and Meghalaya are covered on 23 August and from 26 to 29 August. Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura have a broader rainfall alert from 23 to 29 August.
Thunderstorms and lightning are forecast in Arunachal Pradesh on 23 August, Assam and Meghalaya from 23 to 27 August, and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from 23 to 25 August.
