New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across several parts of the country as monsoon activity remains strong over central, eastern and northeastern India and the western Himalayan region.
The weather department has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab on Saturday.
In north India, widespread rainfall is expected across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand is likely to remain under a prolonged wet spell, with heavy rainfall forecast over the coming days. Isolated heavy rain is also expected in Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Punjab.
The Northeast is likely to remain wet, with heavy rainfall forecast in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, along with parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
Rainfall activity is expected to intensify over eastern India, with widespread showers likely across Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim. Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand are expected to receive widespread rain from Saturday, while Bihar could also see widespread showers. Odisha may witness heavy rainfall over several days, with isolated very heavy rain possible on Sunday.
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Konkan are also likely to receive widespread rainfall. In southern India, Kerala, Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu may experience scattered to widespread showers, accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds in some areas.
The IMD has forecast spells of rain in the national capital over the next few days, although no rainfall is expected in Delhi from 25 August.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 28.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, while the maximum temperature is expected to remain between 34 and 36 degrees Celsius.
The IMD has forecast no significant change in maximum temperatures over the next seven days. (BVI)
