The monsoon is expected to remain active across several parts of India on Sunday, August 23, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations, particularly across central and eastern India.
A weather system over northeast Madhya Pradesh continues to influence rainfall activity over central India, while another system is developing over the north Bay of Bengal. The IMD said a low-pressure area is likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal, off the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts, within the next 24 hours.
Heavy rain likely in central and eastern India
On August 23, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Chhattisgarh, east Madhya Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
Isolated heavy rain has also been forecast for Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, west Uttar Pradesh and west Madhya Pradesh.
Several northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, could also experience heavy rainfall.
East Uttar Pradesh may see particularly intense spells, with isolated instances of very heavy rain possible.
Central India is expected to remain one of the main areas of monsoon activity over the coming days, with fairly widespread to widespread rainfall likely across east and west Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh.
Rain forecast for Delhi-NCR
Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh are expected to receive scattered rainfall on August 23, meaning showers are likely in some areas rather than across the entire region. However, isolated heavy rainfall remains possible.
Elsewhere, fairly widespread to widespread rain is expected over Konkan and Goa, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Scattered rainfall is also possible in parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and southern India.
The changing rainfall pattern is being driven by multiple weather systems interacting with the monsoon trough. The trough currently stretches from Amritsar through parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh towards the northeast Bay of Bengal.
The developing low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal could further strengthen rainfall activity across several regions in the coming days.
For Delhi-NCR, the key takeaway is scattered rain with the possibility of isolated heavy showers on August 23; the developing Bay of Bengal system will be worth watching for the rainfall outlook over the next few days.
