Himachal Pradesh On Alert: Monsoon, Western Disturbance Bring Heavy Rains Until Aug 12

IMD warned of continued heavy monsoon rains in Himachal Pradesh till August 12 due to the active monsoon and Western Disturbance.

School children and other locals carrying umbrellas walk through the street during rainfall in Shimla. (PHOTO: IANS)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also released a new warning, predicting that monsoon showers would continue to batter Himachal Pradesh through August 12. Heavy to very heavy rains are likely in various districts under the combined effect of an active southwest monsoon system and a western disturbance.

Sandeep Kumar Sharma, a Senior Scientist at the IMD Centre in Shimla, said on Wednesday that there was extensive rain over the state in the past 24 hours. "The rain intensity over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the last 24 hours was because of the meeting of an active monsoon system and a western disturbance. Together, they produced strong winds and localized cloud development, resulting in heavy to robust rainfall in the mountainous areas," Sharma said.

Heavy isolated rainfall was reported in Solan, Mandi, Kangra, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, and Chamba districts as per Sharma. Kasauli in Solan received the maximum rainfall of 145 mm, followed by 120 mm in Gohar in Mandi. Various parts of Bilaspur also saw good precipitation.

Yellow warnings of heavy rain have been issued by the IMD for Bilaspur, Kangra, and Solan on August 6. Isolated heavy rain is predicted in Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, and Kullu on August 7 and 8. Rainfall is likely to continue from August 9 to 12, though its intensity will decrease marginally after August 9.

"The monsoon will continue to be active in Himachal Pradesh up to August 12, with scattered rain continuing across various places. Rainfall intensity is expected to decline slightly after the 9th, but rain will continue across the state," Sharma confirmed.

He added that visibility in places such as Shimla, Solan, and Sirmaur is low because of the cloud cover and continuous rain, and these will continue until August 12.

IMD statistics show that rainfall observed in Himachal Pradesh up to August 6 has been 77% higher than normal so far during this time of the month. "Bilaspur, Solan, Una, Hamirpur, and Mandi districts have received between 1.5 times the normal rainfall during August so far," Sharma reported. Lahaul-Spiti district alone has seen less than normal rainfall, with the state otherwise seeing normal or excess rainfall. As the monsoon season started on June 1, the state overall has observed 18% more rain than the average of the season.

Flash flood alerts have also been sounded recently, mainly for areas of Mandi and neighboring ones, with the ongoing heavy rain and the increased danger of landslides and water logging in low-lying areas.