The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Gujarat until September 5. The department has also expressed the possibility of a new weather system developing on August 31.
Revellers of Ganesh Chaturthi in the state are to be primarily concerned with this development, as the much-anticipated festival falls on September 7.
A yellow alert is issued for Navsari and Valsad for September 1 due to heavy rain, with no warnings for the other 31 districts. For September 2, an orange alert is issued for Central Gujarat’s Vadodara and Chhotaudepur districts, while a yellow alert is announced for Bhavnagar, Panchmahal, Dahod, Anand, Bharuch, and Narmada for the same date.
In the following days, heavy rain is expected in districts of South and Central Gujarat. An orange alert is issued for September 3 for Bharuch and Narmada due to heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated areas. Meanwhile, a yellow alert is in place for Bhavnagar, Amreli, Anand, Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Tapi, Navsari, Dang, Surat, and Valsad.
For September 4, an orange alert is announced for Bharuch and Vadodara, while a yellow alert is issued for Amreli, Bhavnagar, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand, Chhotaudepur, Narmada, Tapi, Surat, Dang, Navsari, and Valsad districts.
For September 5, a yellow alert is in place for Panchmahal, Vadodara, and Bharuch, with no warnings for the remaining 30 districts.
Weather experts have forecast heavy rainfall in Central and North Gujarat until September 10. However, they also indicate that the monsoon is likely to withdraw by the end of September or the first week of October.
Rain havoc inflicted upon Gujarat
Over the past few days, Gujarat has experienced heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, leading to waterlogging in many areas and flooding in some regions.
Today, an orange alert was issued for the districts of Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Porbandar, while a yellow alert was also in place for Morbi, Rajkot, Junagadh, and Gir Somnath.
In the last 24 hours, significant rain has been recorded across 222 talukas in the state.
Of these, Kutch’s Mandvi received 388 mm of rain, Mundra recorded 217 mm, Abdasa saw 162 mm, Anjar had 80 mm, Gandhidham received 65 mm, Bhuj recorded 62 mm, Lakhpat saw 53 mm, Nakhatrana had 43 mm, and Bhachau received 42 mm. Additionally, Devbhumi Dwarka recorded 186 mm of rain, Junagadh’s Bheshan received 47 mm, and Rajkot’s Lodhika saw 44 mm of rainfall.
Rainfall ranging from 1 to 10 mm was reported in 123 other talukas across the state.