IMD warns of extremely heavy rain in east India, flood risk in Odisha, Jharkhand
Dual low-pressure systems are set to trigger heavy to extremely heavy downpours across eastern, northern, and southern states, with the weather office warning of flash flood risks in low-lying parts of Odisha, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.
New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday warned of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across large parts of eastern, northwestern and southern India over the next two to three days, driven by two active low-pressure systems. It also announced a low to moderate flash flood risk for parts of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
A low-pressure area likely to form over the coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal and the adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal is expected to trigger heavy to very heavy rainfall over Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the next three days, IMD said.
Separately, a low-pressure area over southwest Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall over northwest Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on Thursday.
In southern India, Kerala and coastal and south interior Karnataka are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next two days.
The weather office said isolated heavy rainfall is likely to persist across many parts of northwest and adjoining central India, as well as the northeast, through most of the week.
In northwest India, widespread rainfall is forecast over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand between 8-13 August. Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi are likely to receive widespread rainfall during 8 August, while east Rajasthan is expected to witness widespread showers from 8-12 August. Jammu and Kashmir is also likely to receive intermittent rainfall through the forecast period.
Across central India, widespread rainfall is expected over east Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha during 8-11 August, west Madhya Pradesh during 10-12 August, and Chhattisgarh on 8 August and 12-13 August.
In eastern India, widespread rainfall is likely over Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim throughout 8-13 August, while Bihar is expected to receive widespread rainfall during 8-9 August.
Flash flood risk
The IMD also issued a low to moderate flash flood risk valid for several districts of Odisha, including Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Keonjhar; Gangetic West Bengal, including Purulia, Bankura, East Midnapore and West Midnapore; and multiple districts of Jharkhand, including Ranchi, East and West Singhbhum, Hazaribag, Bokaro and Ramgarh. Surface runoff and inundation are likely in low-lying areas and locations with saturated soils.
Meanwhile, very heavy rainfall of 12-20 cm was recorded over Uttarakhand, east Rajasthan, Madhya Maharashtra, Odisha and Kerala during the past 24 hours. Heavy rainfall of 7-11 cm was also reported from Assam, Nagaland, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Konkan, coastal Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
About the Author
Vijay C. Roy is a journalist with over 21 years of experience covering various news beats across different organisations such as Business Standard and The Tribune. In the past, he has covered beats such as finance, auto, MSME, commodities, FMCG, pharmaceutical, agriculture, IT/ITES, infrastructure and start-ups. He joined Mint in February 2025, and covers agriculture, food processing, fertilizers, environment and climate change, bringing over two decades of experience reporting on farm policy, food inflation, crop trade, and rural livelihoods.<br><br>Vijay’s areas of reporting include food security and climate change policies, focusing on their impact on different stakeholders and their implications. His expertise lies in simplifying complex agri-economic issues such as edible oil import dependence, cotton and wheat trends, fertiliser subsidies, and climate-related risks. He has covered key developments including global supply disruptions and evolving trade policies, offering both macroeconomic perspective and field-level context. Known for his credible and balanced reporting, he follows a rigorous, fact-based approach that prioritises accuracy and context. He is driven by a commitment to public interest, aiming to make critical agricultural and economic issues accessible while contributing to informed policy and industry discussions.
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