Weather: Heavy rain at some places and heat wave alert at some places, Delhi will be cloudy

New Delhi. Monsoon has once again become active in many parts of the country. The movement of clouds has increased in Delhi, while heavy rains continue in Mumbai and Kolkata. The Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning in many states during the next few days. On the other hand, the effect of heat wave still persists in some parts of Central and North India.

According to the department, conditions remain favorable for the further advance of the south-west monsoon. In the next few days (around June 23), Monsoon may advance into other parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Due to increasing activity of monsoon, the weather patterns have started changing in most areas of the country. There is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rain in Northeast India for the next five days. Heavy rain may occur at many places in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. An alert of extremely heavy rainfall has also been issued in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

It is raining continuously in many parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai. Life in Kolkata and surrounding areas has also been affected due to heavy rains. Waterlogging situation persists in many areas. There is a possibility of cloudy sky and light to moderate rain in Delhi-NCR, which can provide relief to the people from the heat.

The Meteorological Department has predicted strong winds at a speed of 40 to 60 kilometers per hour in parts of Eastern India, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Central India. At some places the wind speed can reach 70 kilometers per hour. There is also a possibility of lightning in many states. There may be hailstorm in Jammu and Kashmir and dust storm in western Rajasthan.

Eastern Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Uttar Pradesh will face heat wave for the next five days.
However, amidst the rains, the heat and heat waves in some parts of the country have not ended yet. Heat wave to severe heat wave is likely to prevail in Vidarbha, East Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh for the next four to five days. The effect of hot winds may continue for the next three days in Chhattisgarh and the next two days in Telangana. Heat wave was also recorded in parts of Central Maharashtra, Marathwada, Bihar and Odisha on Saturday. On the temperature front, Banda in Uttar Pradesh and Brahmapuri in Maharashtra recorded a maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius, which was the highest in the country. Night temperatures also remain above normal in many areas.

Fishermen warned not to go into the sea
The Meteorological Department has warned of waterlogging, landslides and rise in the water level of rivers in areas of heavy rain. People in heat wave affected areas have been advised to drink enough water, avoid sunlight and not go out unnecessarily during the afternoon. Fishermen have also been issued a warning not to venture into the sea for the next few days in many parts of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

47 cm rain in Cherrapunji
In the last 24 hours, exceptionally heavy rainfall was recorded in some areas of Meghalaya. 53 cm rainfall was recorded in Mawsynram and 47 cm rainfall was recorded in Cherrapunji. Many areas of Sikkim and North Bengal also received heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. Due to continuous rains, the risk of landslides and rising water level of rivers has increased in the hilly areas. The Meteorological Department has advised people living in sensitive areas to remain alert.

Record jump of 76 percent in Shimla’s booking in the month of June
New Delhi. Amidst the increasing heat, Indian tourists are turning to the mountains in large numbers. According to the report of hospitality chain Zostel, there has been a huge increase of 76 percent in bookings in Shimla this June as compared to last year. Apart from this, tourist places like Srinagar, Tirthan Valley and Gangtok have seen an increase of up to 95 percent in the number of tourists. The report also shows the increasing trend of spontaneous travel. The report states that 48 percent tourists are preferring to book only three days before the trip.

Aviral Gupta, CEO, Zostel, said travelers are now comfortable making decisions at short notice rather than booking in advance. Along with this, other hotels have also seen a 15-18 percent increase in bookings during April-June. Now tourists are giving preference to popular places like Shimla as well as lesser known destinations like Dobhi and Kareri. The report states that 67 percent of these tourists are from non-metro cities.