Fresh wave of heavy rain seen lashing East, Central India

The monsoon over East and adjoining Central India has received a further boost with a low-pressure area cantering its way in from over Bangladesh and parking itself over Jharkhand on Monday.

This is even as a predecessor ‘low’ (erstwhile deep depression) lurks over Rajasthan, having left a trail of flooding heavy rain all the way from the East.

During the 24 hours ending on Monday morning, the monsoon was ‘vigorous’ over Gangetic West Bengal and ‘active’ over East Rajasthan, hills of West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Heavy to very rain occurred at almost all places over Gangetic West Bengal while it was heavy at isolated places over Bihar and the hills of West Bengal.

An India Met Department outlook indicated the possibility of another round of heavy to very heavy rains at a few places over East, Central and North-West India over the next three to four days.

The rain-deficient Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep may undergo a wet spell beginning from Tuesday as a welcome change over the South Peninsula.

The Met has indicated the possibility of a ‘low’ springing up in the West-central Bay of Bengal by Friday.

Unlike earlier ones, its location serves the cause of the South by bringing in more organised rain.

The ‘low’ may not gather much strength but will bring moderate to heavy rain around Chennai, just to the north of which it would cross the coast by the following Monday.

An extended outlook valid from Saturday to Monday next indicates rain for most parts of East, Central and North-East India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The three-day-period may also witness an increase in rainfall over North-West India and south-eastern parts of peninsular India (coastal and adjoining interior Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh). According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, a strong typhoon developing West Pacific during the weekend would draw the monsoon flows to it.

The typhoon will cause the flows to emerge from the South Arabian Sea and circumnavigate the tip of peninsular India and delve into the Bay of Bengal.

These flows will bring in rain over the southern Indian peninsula, Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Weather models also pick up a storm building over East Indian Ocean, to the south of the Bay of Bengal, which does not augur good for the monsoon.

This is because this storm will appropriate the flows that would have otherwise headed into the monsoon, and weaken it in the process. The US Climate Prediction Centre says that this would be a temporary phase. The monsoon would swing back into reckoning by the second week of September.

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