Monsoon activity intensified across India on Sunday, with heavy rain disrupting flight operations in Mumbai, triggering weather alerts in Kerala, Odisha and Jharkhand, and bringing widespread downpour to Delhi.
NEW DELHI — Monsoon activity intensified across India on Sunday, with heavy rain disrupting flight operations in Mumbai, triggering weather alerts in Kerala, Odisha and Jharkhand, and bringing widespread downpour to Delhi.
Mumbai took the hardest hit as heavy overnight rain lashed the city, forcing the suspension of runway operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for an hour.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday retained a red alert, forecasting continued downpours and isolated extremely heavy showers.
Several inbound and outbound flights were affected due to the disruption, leaving passengers to grapple with an average departure delay of 75 minutes and arrivals by at least 28 minutes.
"At approximately 10.17 am, adverse weather conditions, including strong gusty winds of up to 42 knots and reduced visibility due to heavy rain, impacted runway operations," the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said in a statement.
Following an improvement in weather conditions, normal runway operations resumed after an hour, it said.
Several areas in Mumbai recorded over 200 mm of rainfall and a few others as much as 300 mm in the last 24 hours, according to official data.
In Odisha, a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression, prompting the state to place all its districts on high alert.
The IMD said the system is likely to cross the north Odisha coast between Chandbali and Digha over the next day and could bring heavy rainfall to Odisha and West Bengal.
Most parts of Kerala received widespread rain on Sunday, putting several areas across the state on orange and yellow alert.
The IMD issued orange alerts for Kannur and Kasaragod on July 6 and for Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod on July 7, while yellow alerts remained in force for several northern districts.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority urged people living in landslide, mudslide and flash flood-prone areas to move to safer locations if advised by authorities
In Delhi, moderate rainfall lashed several parts of the national capital on Sunday, bringing much-needed relief from the sultry weather.
Chhatarpur recorded the highest rainfall at 49 mm till 2.30 pm, followed by Gurugram (35 mm), Mehrauli (18 mm), Greater Noida (17 mm), Najafgarh (8 mm) and Janakpuri (7 mm), according to IMD data.
The weather department has forecast a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain during the day, with the maximum temperature likely to settle around 36 degrees Celsius.
In Jharkhand, the IMD issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across all 24 districts from July 6 to 9.
"Cloudy conditions are likely to prevail, with a possibility of light to moderate rainfall across the state, and heavy rain is expected at isolated places. The maximum temperature is likely to decrease by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius,” it said.
Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Hazaribag, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla and Ranchi are likely to receive heavy rainfall on Monday.