Chandigarh, August 21: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a five-day rain alert for Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, warning of heavy to very heavy showers between Friday and Tuesday.
An orange alert has been sounded for very heavy rainfall on Saturday, while a yellow alert is in place for Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
“There will be an increase in rainfall activity over Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana from the night of August 22 to 25,” the IMD said in its advisory. The forecast predicts light to moderate rain at a few places in the next 24 hours, followed by widespread rain activity through the weekend.
According to the bulletin, light to moderate rain is expected at many places on August 22, at most places between August 23 and 25, and at a few locations thereafter. “Heavy rainfall (7 cm or more) is very likely from August 22 to 25 at isolated places over Punjab and Haryana and from August 23 to 25 over Chandigarh,” the IMD noted. Very heavy rainfall (12 cm or more) is forecast for isolated areas of Punjab and Haryana on August 23.
The seven-day outlook suggests fairly widespread rainfall on Friday, widespread at most places from Saturday to Tuesday, and scattered showers on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, temperatures in the region remained above normal. Mohali recorded the highest maximum temperature in Punjab at 35.4°C, while Panchkula reported the lowest minimum temperature in Haryana at 24.5°C. Chandigarh registered a maximum of 35.3°C and a minimum of 24.7°C—1.9°C and 2.5°C above the average, respectively. The city’s night temperature, however, was marginally below the previous night’s reading.
Mohali logged a night minimum of 25.9°C, while Panchkula’s daytime high touched 34.3°C. In the past 24 hours, 1 mm of rainfall was recorded in Mohali and 0.4 mm in Chandigarh.
