Weather alert continues in several parts of the country after India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of dust storm and thunderstorm for today and tomorrow.
IMD has said, due to the impact of western disturbance, dust storm or thunderstorm accompanied with squalls and hail are likely to occur over Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal during the period.
Meanwhile, duststorm has hit many places in Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions and isolated areas in Jaipur, Ajmer and Kota regions of Rajasthan, affecting normal life. Gusty winds hit Ajmer, Jaipur, Sikar and nearby areas in the morning leaving trees uprooted and sign boards damaged.
The Uttar Pradesh government has asked its officials to take precautionary measures in view of the warning for eastern and western districts of the state. Our correspondent reports, a separate alert has been issued for Saharanpur and Baharaich districts.
In Uttarakhand, incessant snowfall since last night in Kedarnath and Badrinath, coupled with rain and landslide in Lambagad disrupted pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrines for hours today. However, the route has now been opened and efforts are on to first led the vehicles stranded between Badrinath and Lambagad pass.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat over the phone to take stock of the situation and offered all help in case of any emergency. Heavy rain and thunderstorm are also likely to hit the national capital tonight. In view of the warning, Delhi government has put search and rescue teams on standby.
The warning has also been issued for southern part of the country for today and tomorrow. During the period, thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds is likely to occur at isolated places over interior Tamilnadu, Kerala, South interior Karnataka, Telangana, Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
The India Meteorological Department has said, the thunderstorm activity is expected to take place in Delhi and Haryana within next two to three hours. Talking to AIR, Head of Services of IMD, Dr M Mohapatra said, thunderstorm activity which started yesterday is likely to continue today. Mr Mohapatra said, the weather condition will improve in north-west India from tomorrow onwards.