Unseasonal snowfall, rains lash Ladakh; red alert issued

 

 

UNSEASONAL snowfall and heavy rains lashed wide parts of Ladakh, prompting the meteorological department to issue a red alert for the region, officials said. The rains also triggered landslides on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar National Highway at Lamayuru, forcing the closure of the strategic highway, they said. Officials said the high-altitude passes in both Leh and Kargil districts experienced unseasonal snowfall overnight after two days of rainfall. The traffic on the Kargil-Zanskar road was suspended as a precautionary measure, they said. After the landslide at Lamayuru, the main Leh-Kargil highway was closed for traffic and an operation is underway to clear the debris to make the road traffic worthy. Delhi records highest single-day rainfall for July since 1982, says IMD: Delhi recorded 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending 8:30 on Sunday, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, the India Meteorological Department said. An interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds is leading to an intense rainfall spell over North-West India, including Delhi.

 

The city logged 133.4 mm of rain on July 10, 2003, 126 mm on July 28, 2009, and 125.7 mm on July 8, 1993. The all-time high of 266.2 mm on July 21, 1958. Delhi has recorded eight “very heavy” rain events (between 115.6 mm and 204.4 mm) in July since 1969, the IMD data shows. The Met Office has issued a yellow alert. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has cancelled the Sunday leave of all Government officials and instructed them to be on the field. He also said Delhi Cabinet Ministers and Mayor Shelly Oberoi will be inspecting the “problem areas” on the city. “Today, all the ministers of Delhi and the Mayor will carry out an inspection of problem areas. Directions have been issued to all officers to be on the ground and their Sunday off has been cancelled,” he said. Heavy rains in Haryana, Punjab: Heavy rains lashed many parts of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, leading to waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic snarls.

 

For the second consecutive day, rains lashed Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Sonipat among other places in Haryana while Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali, Rupnagar and Patiala in Punjab also received heavy showers, a Met official here said. Two people were killed and 3 sustained injuries in separate incidents of lightning strike here on Sunday. The flood situation in the Dhemaji district of Assam has become grim as nearly 18,000 people have been hit by the current wave of flood. 48 villages under 4 revenue circles of the district have been inundated by flood waters and submerged 530.07 hectares of cropland.