Heavy rain may return to parts of Gujarat on Aug 8-9; IMD issues Yellow Alert

Ahmedabad: The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest weather forecast, has predicted light to moderate rainfall across Gujarat over the next seven days, until August 12. However, a few places in North Gujarat are likely to receive heavy rainfall on August 8 and 9.

According to the IMD, light to moderate rain is expected in all districts of Gujarat during the forecast period. On August 8, heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts. On August 9, heavy rain is also expected in Banaskantha and Vav-Tharad, in addition to Sabarkantha and Aravalli. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for these districts on the respective days.

The weather department has also issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, surface winds of 30–40 kmph, and light to moderate rainfall at isolated places across the state on August 8 and 9.

The alert covers all districts of North Gujarat, including Banaskantha, Vav-Tharad, Patan, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, and Mahisagar. Similar conditions are forecast across all districts of South Gujarat—Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Tapi, Dang, Navsari, and Valsad—as well as Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The warning also extends to all districts of Saurashtra-Kutch, including Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Devbhumi Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Botad, and Kutch, besides Diu.

The IMD attributed the weather conditions to a combination of active synoptic systems. The monsoon trough at mean sea level currently passes through Firozpur, Rohtak, Shahjahanpur, Kanpur, Daltonganj, and Digha, before extending east-southeastwards towards the Northeast Bay of Bengal.

Additionally, a Western Disturbance in the form of a trough in the middle and upper tropospheric westerlies persists, with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level running roughly along 73°E longitude north of 29°N latitude. The IMD also noted that southwesterly to westerly winds are prevailing over the region at lower levels, supporting rainfall activity across Gujarat. DeshGujarat