Heavy rain alert in various states of the country, Meghraja angry in Gujarat: Rainfall deficit up to 88% in Dwarka
Rapid changes are being seen in the seasonal weather patterns across the country. On one hand, the monsoon is taking a violent turn in North and East India, while on the other hand, Meghraja is raging in Gujarat, creating a drought-like fear. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert of extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the hill states, while most districts of Gujarat are recording a severe rainfall deficit.
In the plains of North India, moderate to heavy rains are likely in Delhi with wind gusting to around 50 km/h. In eastern Uttar Pradesh, a spell of rain has started since morning with wind gusting to 70 km/h. Earlier, Bareilly received the highest rainfall of 141.3 mm, Bijnor 134 mm and Moradabad 114 mm, while Gonda, Balrampur, Bahraich and Lakhimpur Kheri also received heavy rainfall. The flood situation has worsened in Bihar, where the Ganga river has crossed its highest water level in Patna and according to the Patna Meteorological Centre, rains will continue for the next 24 hours. A severe warning of thunderstorms and landslides has been issued in the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh from 10 to 12 September.
On the other hand, under the direct influence of El Nino, the monsoon in Gujarat is proving to be very weak. Especially in Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the situation of rainfall is the worst. The highest rainfall deficit in the state has reached 88% in Devbhoomi Dwarka, where only 6.81% of the entire season's rainfall has been received. Porbandar district has also recorded a deficit of 73% and there has been barely 18% of the season's rainfall. Farmers and local residents are in great trouble due to the lack of rainfall in this region, which usually receives good rainfall.
The situation in other parts of Gujarat is also worrying. Junagadh and Jamnagar in Saurashtra are witnessing a 61%-61% deficit in rainfall, Gir Somnath is 40% and Rajkot is 34%. In central Gujarat, Vadodara has received 32% and Chhota Udepur 30% less rainfall. Sabarkantha in North Gujarat has received 44%, while Mehsana and Gandhinagar have received 27%-27% deficit. Dahod in East Gujarat has recorded 45% less rainfall. Due to such a huge shortage of rainfall in most districts of the state, the water level of reservoirs has gone down and there is a big crisis against the kharif crops.
