A red alert is in force for Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the Vidarbha region as a deep depression continues to move across eastern India.
The system is currently positioned over north interior Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal, tracking west-northwestwards at about 12 kilometres per hour.
The IMD said the depression is expected to move across north Odisha, south Jharkhand and north Chhattisgarh in the next 24 hours, bringing heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Some areas under the red alert could see extremely heavy rain of more than 204.5 millimetres, with flooding and waterlogging risks flagged for low-lying areas.
An orange alert has been issued for Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, western Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, where heavy to very heavy rain is expected.
Rain alerts also cover Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar amid warnings of thunderstorms and gusty winds.
The IMD has cautioned people in hilly areas to watch for landslides and advised motorists to avoid waterlogged roads during the alert period.
Officials said the depression’s path would continue to be tracked closely, with updated advisories to follow.
A July 28 IMD press release forecast normal to above-normal monsoon rainfall over northwest and central India for the next four to five days, with the monsoon trough expected to remain near its usual position through the week.
The IMD uses a colour-coded system running from green through yellow and orange to red, with a red alert indicating conditions severe enough to call for immediate action by state authorities and residents alike.
Red alerts from the IMD are reserved for situations warranting immediate action, urging state disaster management authorities to prepare for potential large-scale disruption to travel, power supply and daily life.
The IMD typically classifies a weather system as a deep depression when sustained wind speeds near its centre reach between 51 and 61 kilometres per hour, one step below a full cyclonic storm in intensity.
(Image: Photo by McKay Savage from London, UK, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
