Death toll rises to 17 in Northeast rains, drizzle expected in Delhi

New Delhi: Heavy rainfall on Saturday battered the north-eastern states, where at least 17 people have died in flash floods and landslides, with the southwest monsoon extending its reach in the region, Odisha and parts of West Bengal.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) daily report predicted light rainfall for Sunday in Delhi, which is still reeling under a haze of dust brought by winds from Rajasthan which has raised the air pollution level to "severe".

It said the monsoon was hovering over Maharashtra in the west and parts of Odisha, West Bengal and Assam in east and northeast India. Any further advance of the monsoon is unlikely during next 6-7 days due to the prevalence of a weak pattern.

The weatherman forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in Konkan and Goa and heavy rain at some places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Karnataka on Sunday.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, four people lost their lives in flood and landslide related incidents during the past 24 hours.

 One person died in Mizoram.

The total number of people dead in the northeast has risen to 17, officials said.

Troops respond to a distress call to rescue over 800 marooned people flood affected areas. (Photo: @adgpi/Twitter)

The IMD said dust storm or thunderstorm is "very likely" at a few places over Rajasthan.

Dust storms this week in western India have led to a thick haze and increased the presence of ultra-fine pollutants in the air in the Delhi-NCR region.

Also read: Air quality in Delhi sees improvement, still in ‘severe’ category

The dust storm in Rajasthan on Saturday led to the cancellation of a Bikaner-New Delhi flight.

In Delhi, the air pollution situation improved when compared to a day before, but it remained "severe". Civil construction activities have been ordered suspended until tomorrow.

The weatherman has forecast light rainfall for Sunday, which should settle the toxic dust particles in the air. Rainfall in parts of Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, cleared the haze blanket, while flight operations hit in the two states due to low-visibility resumed on Saturday.

The maximum temperature dropped by a few notches after rainfall in the two states. The rainfall brought cheers to paddy growers, readying their fields for transplanting paddy.

A few places in western and eastern Uttar Pradesh are likely to experience rain or thunderstorm on Sunday, the MeT department in Lucknow said.

The day temperature was above the normal in Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur and Moradabad divisions.

In Odisha, the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) was closed for visitors from Saturday in view of the monsoon. The STR, spread over an area of 2,750 sq km, attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists because of its varied flora and fauna, including the Black Melanistic Royal Bengal Tiger, and breathtaking waterfalls.

The Odisha government also extended the summer vacation in schools by three days owing to the intense heat, a state education department official said in Bhubaneswar.

Odisha is reeling under sweltering heat with nine places including the state capital recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, despite the onset of the monsoon in the state. Widespread rainfall lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, settling the dust particles in the air.

The visibility, however, remained poor due to mist but was expected to improve by Sunday, Manmohan Singh, the director of the local Met office, said.