Himachal braces for continued rainfall, Orange alerts issued in several districts
August has been a month of relentless rain for Himachal Pradesh, and it’s not over yet. The state has been drenched with heavy downpours, and many areas are still seeing non-stop showers. Unfortunately, it looks like the rain isn’t letting up anytime soon. On Saturday, Shimla and Mandi were hit hard by heavy rainfall. Shimla had a sunny start today, but by afternoon, the skies opened up, bringing a heavy downpour and dropping the temperature to 19.5 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, other parts of the state enjoyed clear skies and sunshine.
According to the IMD in Shimla, the wet weather is expected to continue until August 23. From August 18 to 21, most parts of the plains and middle hilly areas are on alert for more rain. Rain is also expected in some places on August 23 and 24. The weather department has issued orange alerts for heavy rainfall in Kangra and Una on August 19 and 20. On August 21, the alert extends to Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, and Una. This means people across the state need to prepare for more heavy rain in the coming days.
Between August 11 and 18, Kangra received the highest rainfall in the state, with a whopping 185.2 mm. Sirmaur came in second with 116.2 mm, followed by Una with 97.1 mm. Kinnaur saw the least rainfall, recording just 3.8 mm, while Lahaul Spiti and Shimla recorded 11.7 mm and 46.3 mm, respectively. For the month of August, Kangra has seen the most rain so far, totaling 521.5 mm.
Temperatures have also varied across Himachal Pradesh. Kukumseri recorded the lowest temperature at 9 degrees Celsius, while the highest was 34.9 degrees Celsius in Dhaula Kuan. In Shimla, the temperature hit 19.5°C, Sundernagar reached 30°C, Kangra 28.6°C, and Keylong 23.3°C.
The forecast doesn’t look promising for Himachal Pradesh, with more rain expected across several areas in the coming days. The heavy rainfall has already caused disruption in Shimla and its surrounding regions this afternoon, and residents are bracing for what’s next.
