IMD issues Red Alert for parts of Gujarat; Forecasts extremely heavy rain during next 48 hours

Ahmedabad: Incessant heavy rain has been lashing Gujarat for the past two days, with several districts in south and central Gujarat witnessing flash floods and widespread waterlogging. However, there is little relief in sight for the affected areas, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across different parts of the state over the next several days.

According to the IMD, heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely to exceptionally heavy falls, is very likely in the Gujarat region districts of Kheda, Ahmedabad, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Dang, Navsari, Valsad and Tapi, along with the Union Territories of Daman and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. These districts have been placed under a red alert.

The IMD has also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in the North Gujarat districts of Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli and Mahisagar, as well as Surendranagar and Bhavnagar districts in the Saurashtra region. These areas are under an orange alert.

A yellow alert for heavy rain has been issued for the North Gujarat districts of Banaskantha, Vav-Tharad and Patan, besides the Saurashtra districts of Amreli, Gir Somnath and Botad, along with Diu.

For July 24, the IMD has issued a red alert for Panchmahal, Dahod and Mahisagar districts. An orange alert has been issued for Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, and the Union Territories of Daman and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, along with Surendranagar district in the Saurashtra-Kutch region. A yellow alert has been issued for Banaskantha, Vav-Tharad, Patan, Mehsana, Narmada, Dang and Tapi, as well as the Saurashtra districts of Amreli, Bhavnagar and Botad.

On July 25, an orange alert for very heavy rainfall has been issued only for Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts. The remaining parts of the state are under a yellow alert for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, surface winds of 30-40 kmph, and light to moderate rain, with isolated heavy showers.

On July 26, an orange alert for very heavy rainfall has been issued only for Sabarkantha and Banaskantha districts. The remaining parts of the state are under a yellow alert for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, surface winds of 30-40 kmph, and light to moderate rain, with isolated heavy showers.

On July 27, heavy rain is likely only in Banaskantha, Vav-Tharad, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts. The rest of Gujarat is expected to witness light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and surface winds of 30-40 kmph.

On July 28, a yellow alert for heavy rain at isolated places has been issued only for Banaskantha, Vav-Tharad, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts. On July 29, the state is expected to receive only light to moderate rainfall.

The IMD said several weather systems are contributing to the ongoing spell of heavy rain over Gujarat. The monsoon trough at mean sea level currently passes through Jaisalmer, Kota, Guna, Damoh, Daltonganj and Contai, before extending southeastwards towards the northeast Bay of Bengal, and extends up to 3.1 km above mean sea level, tilting southwards with height.

An east-west shear zone along 23°N latitude extends from the northeast Arabian Sea to Manipur, passing through South Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal and Bangladesh, between 4.8 km and 7.6 km above mean sea level. The upper air cyclonic circulation over central parts of north Madhya Pradesh has merged with this shear zone.

Meanwhile, the Western Disturbance over Jammu and adjoining areas persists as a cyclonic circulation at 3.1 km above mean sea level, with a trough aloft extending through the middle and upper troposphere. Another upper air cyclonic circulation lies over southeast Rajasthan and adjoining northwest Madhya Pradesh at 3.1 km above mean sea level, while generally westerly winds continue to prevail over the region at lower levels, supporting widespread rainfall activity across Gujarat. DeshGujarat