Arizona Tribune - Odisha faces very heavy rain as Sri Ganganagar reaches 41.4C

Rainfall is expected to intensify across parts of India as a new low-pressure system develops over the Bay of Bengal, while unusually high temperatures continue in several regions. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for Odisha for August 28, warning that some locations could receive 115.5mm to 204.4mm of rain.A cyclonic circulation over the northwestern Bay of Bengal and nearby coastal areas of West Bengal and north Odisha was expected to produce a low-pressure area around August 29. Another low-pressure system over northeastern Uttar Pradesh was forecast to support thunderstorms and heavier rainfall across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and neighbouring areas.Heavy rain of 64.5mm to 115.5mm was forecast in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, eastern Madhya Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. Winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour were possible in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, north interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu-Puducherry, with thunderstorms and lightning also expected across a wider area.Despite the increase in rain, Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature among India's plains at 41.4C. Haflong in Assam recorded the lowest minimum temperature among the plains at 18C. Maximum temperatures were 3.1C to 5C above normal in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Marathwada.Significant rain had already been recorded in western Uttar Pradesh, including 130mm in Hamirpur, 100mm in Sambhal and 70mm in Kasganj. Parts of Tripura and Mizoram received 100mm to 150mm. Farmers were advised to improve drainage, protect vulnerable crops from strong winds and move harvested produce into dry storage.

P.Smith--AT