Bhopal: IMD issues 1 orange, 2 yellow alerts

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday afternoon issued an orange alert, which calls on the administration to be prepared, for heavy to very heavy rainfall in 15 districts in Madhya Pradesh even as rain continued to lash several areas in the past 24 hours.

The IMD also issued two yellow alerts, which calls on officials to be updated, one forecasting likely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Khandwa district and Bhopal and Narmadapuram divisions, and the second for possible thunderstorms with lightning at isolated places in the districts of 10 divisions, including Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior.

All these alerts are valid till Tuesday morning, an IMD official said.

The orange alert warns of likely heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Jabalpur, Balaghat, Mandla, Satna, Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria, Dindori, Katni, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara, Seoni, Sagar, Damoh and Chhatarpur, he said.

According to Shakti Singh, scientific assistant at IMD's Bhopal centre, large parts of the state are witnessing rain.

"Monsoon covered all of MP on July 1. The state, so far, has received 11 per cent less rainfall than the normal average. Between June 1 and July 4, it has received 147.1 millimetre rainfall against the normal average of 164.7 mm," Singh said.

As per IMD data, Sagar, Khandwa, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Indore received 68.6 mm, 63.0 mm, 25.7 mm, 5.9 mm, 3.4 mm and 3.0 mm rainfall respectively in a 24-hour period ending at 8:30am on Monday.

A low pressure area over north Odisha and some others reasons were bringing moisture to MP, which in turn was causing rains, Singh added.