India is likely to witness widespread rainfall activity accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across several regions over the next few days, according to the latest forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.
The IMD said the southwest monsoon has advanced further into parts of the south Arabian Sea, Maldives-Comorin region, south Bay of Bengal and sections of the northeast Bay of Bengal.
Heavy rainfall likely over Northeast India
The IMD has forecast isolated to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall across the northeastern states till May 25
States including Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall between May 21 and 25.
According to the forecast, Arunachal Pradesh may witness very heavy rainfall on May 23 and 24, while Assam and Meghalaya are expected to experience intense rainfall activity from May 23 to 25.
Thunderstorms, gusty winds expected in southern states
Southern states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, are expected to receive fairly widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over the coming days.
Kerala and Mahe are likely to experience heavy rainfall between May 20 and 25. Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam may witness thunderstorms with wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph and gusting up to 70 kmph on May 20 and 23.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Mahe are also expected to receive isolated heavy rainfall during May 20 and 21, according to IMD.
East India likely to receive rain, thunderstorms
Eastern India is also expected to experience active weather conditions over the coming days.
The IMD forecast fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds over Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Odisha is likely to witness thunderstorms with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph between May 20 and 23. Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand may also experience thunderstorms and gusty winds during the same period.
Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are expected to receive isolated heavy rainfall between May 21 and 25, with very heavy rainfall likely on May 22 and 23.
Strong winds forecast in Northwest India
Thunderstorms accompanied by wind speeds of 50-60 kmph gusting up to 70 kmph are expected over Jammu and Kashmir on May 21.
In addition, the IMD said thunderstorms with wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph are likely over Jammu and Kashmir on May 21. Strong surface winds with speeds of 20-30 kmph gusting up to 40 kmph are also expected over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh between May 20 and 25.