If you’re planning a trip to the Himalayas this weekend or in the coming days, you may want to hold off on packing. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a fresh spell of widespread monsoon activity across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand from July 18, with heavy to very heavy rains expected across the region.
IMD has issued a yellow alert for In Himachal Pradesh, while Uttarakhand is on high alert for floods and landslides. The IMD attributed the expected increase in rainfall to multiple active weather systems.
Weather enthusiast Navdeep Dahiya also issued a similar warning on social media. In a post on X, he gave two reasons to avoid a trip to the Himalayas this weekend and into Wednesday.
“Firstly, widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected across Himachal, Jammu and Uttarakhand from Saturday onwards, but will peak during Sunday and Wednesday next week,” Dahiya wrote.
He added: “There is a high risk of landslides on multiple roads, and the possibility of cloudbursts and flash floods in isolated places, which is common during extreme events.”
What IMD said
According to the Meteorological Center in Shimla: Rainfall is expected to increase gradually over the next week. While July 17 is likely to see scattered rain falling over 26 to 50 per cent of the state without any warning, fairly widespread rain covering 51 to 75 per cent of the state is expected on July 18, with heavy rain expected at isolated places.
The Met office has forecast widespread rainfall of 76 to 100 per cent in Himachal Pradesh from July 19 to 22, with heavy to very heavy rains at isolated locations. Widespread rainfall is expected to continue on July 23, with heavy rain possible in isolated places.
According to IMD, the monsoon trough currently extends from Jammu to Bareilly and towards the northeastern Bay of Bengal, while the western disturbance continues as a cyclonic circulation over Jammu region. In addition, a new Western Disturbance is likely to impact northwest India from July 19, increasing rainfall activity over Himachal Pradesh.
Uttarakhand forecast
IMD expected heavy rains in parts of Uttarakhand, rainfall is expected to continue over the next seven days. According to forecasts, approaching Western Disturbance may lead to increased rainfall starting July 19.
Low to moderate flash flood risk is also expected in watersheds across districts like Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi.
