IMD issues orange alert in 18 districts of Gujarat

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places across various districts of the Gujarat region. In its Tuesday weather bulletin, the IMD announced that 18 districts in the state have been placed on orange alert, while several others are under yellow warning due to the high likelihood of heavy rains.

According to the forecast, many areas in Gujarat can expect heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours. The weather pattern is set to shift from July 11, with South Gujarat likely to experience heavy rain while the rest of the state receives light to moderate showers.

“Light to moderate thunderstorm with lightning and surface wind 30- 40 kmph (in gust) accompanied with light to moderate rain very likely at isolated places in all the districts of Gujarat,” it said.

The IMD bulletin highlighted that heavy to very heavy rains are very likely in the next 24 hours in several districts. These include Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Anand, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Dang, Tapi, Navsari, and Valsad. The Union territories of Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli are also expected to see significant rainfall.

The Saurashtra region is not exempt from this weather system. The districts of Surendranagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath, and Botad may also experience heavy rains, according to the IMD.

In the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday, there was heavy rainfall in isolated places in North Gujarat, particularly in Sabarkantha district. The meteorological department reported that rainfall has also occurred at a few places over South Gujarat region and Saurashtra, and at isolated places over North Gujarat region and Kutch.

Prantij in Sabarkantha district received the highest rainfall at 8 cm, followed by Talod, also in Sabarkantha, at 5 cm. Surat City recorded 3 cm of rain. Several other locations, including Valsad, Bharuch, and Dangs, received 2 cm of rainfall each.