Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 7 : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a fresh alert warning that monsoon rains are likely to persist across Himachal Pradesh till August 12, with several districts expected to witness heavy to hefty rainfall due to the combined impact of the active southwest monsoon and a western disturbance.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist at the IMD Centre in Shimla, said that rainfall activity has been widespread across the state over the last 24 hours.
"The intensity of rain over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the past 24 hours was due to the convergence of an active monsoon system and a western disturbance. This combination led to strong winds and localised cloud formation, which resulted in heavy to hefty rainfall in the hilly regions," Sharma explained.
According to Sharma, heavy rainfall was recorded at isolated locations in Solan, Mandi, Kangra, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, and Chamba districts.
"Kasauli in Solan recorded the highest rainfall at 145 mm, followed by Gohar in Mandi with 120 mm. Several parts of Bilaspur also received significant rain," Sharma said.
The IMD has issued yellow alerts for heavy rainfall in districts including Bilaspur, Kangra, and Solan on August 6, while on August 7 and 8, isolated heavy rainfall is expected in Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, and Kullu. From August 9 to 12, rainfall is expected to continue, though its intensity may slightly reduce after the 9th.
"The monsoon will remain active in Himachal Pradesh till August 12, with scattered rainfall continuing in different regions. Rain intensity is likely to dip marginally after the 9th, but precipitation will persist statewide," Sharma said.
He further highlighted that visibility in areas like Shimla, Solan, and Sirmaur continues to remain low due to cloud cover and ongoing rainfall.
"Visibility conditions in regions such as Shimla and Sirmaur have already been poor, and due to continuous rainfall and lookout cloud formation, these are expected to remain affected between August 6 and 12," Sharma added.
According to IMD data, rainfall recorded till August 6 in Himachal Pradesh has been 77% above normal for this time of the month.
"Districts like Bilaspur, Solan, Una, Hamirpur, and Mandi have received up to 1.5 times more rainfall than usual so far in August," Sharma reported.
Only Lahaul-Spiti district has recorded below-normal rainfall, whereas the rest of the state has either received normal or surplus precipitation. Since the beginning of the monsoon season on June 1, the state overall has received 18% more rainfall than the seasonal average.
Flash flood warnings were also issued recently, especially for parts of Mandi and nearby regions, due to the continuous heavy rain and increasing risk of landslides and water logging in low-lying areas.