West Bengal Rain: IMD Issues Heavy Rain Alert Across All Districts, Flood Risk Looms

The India Meteorological Department has issued heavy rain alerts across West Bengal, placing North Bengal under an orange alert and South Bengal under a yellow alert amid warnings of landslides, flooding and waterlogging.

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Yellow rain alert issued

The weather office has issued a heavy rain warning for six districts in South Bengal. Meanwhile, almost all districts in North Bengal are under an orange alert. The Met office has also advised fishermen in the south to stay away from the sea until Saturday.

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Landslides may also occur on hilly roads

Gusty winds are blowing at speeds of 35 to 45 km per hour along the West Bengal and North Odisha coasts, making the sea quite rough. Most districts in North Bengal are on an orange alert. The heavy rain will likely cause water levels in the hill rivers to rise, and could also trigger landslides on mountain roads.

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Advice to take precautionary measures in the mountains

The weather office has advised people in the hills to take precautions in advance. North Bengal has already been getting non-stop rain, and this new spell could make things worse. The two Dinajpurs and Malda will also see heavy rain for the next few days. Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and Alipurduar have a very heavy rain forecast until next Thursday.

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A cyclonic circulation is active

The Met office also said that a cyclonic circulation is active over Bangladesh. These two systems together are causing heavy to very heavy rain in North Bengal. Yesterday, Kolkata's minimum temperature was 26.8 degrees Celsius, which is 0.1 degrees below normal. The sky has been cloudy since the morning.

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Train services disrupted

The relative humidity in Kolkata is at 98 percent. The city and its surrounding areas are under a yellow alert until Monday. In the last 24 hours, Kolkata and nearby areas received 27.9 mm of rain. The downpour has slightly disrupted local train services and affected traffic movement.

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Kolkata is floating in water

While the Metro services are running normally, there's a 90% chance of more rain in Kolkata. The showers have already caused waterlogging in parts of Central Avenue, Thanthania, the Ultadanga underpass, and sections of VIP Road near the airport.

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Large areas of Kolkata are submerged

Large parts of Kolkata are now waterlogged due to the heavy rain, causing a lot of trouble for residents. According to the Alipore Met Office, the monsoon trough is currently stretching from southwest Uttar Pradesh, across Jharkhand and West Bengal, all the way to the Bay of Bengal.

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Heavy rain alert across Bengal

A huge amount of moisture is entering the mainland from the Bay of Bengal. This is why a heavy rain warning is in place for the entire state. Rain will continue in Kolkata and other districts until Monday. The weather office has also warned that low-lying areas could get flooded.

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Heavy rain forecast

The heavy rain forecast isn't just for Kolkata; it covers almost all of South Bengal. The city is already flooded from the continuous downpour. Rain is lashing the state from north to south, with a yellow alert issued for nearly all districts in the south.