Meteorological Department warns of thunderstorms till Saturday

NEW DELHI: The weather office has warned of continuous thunderstorm activity in north, east, southern and northeastern parts of the country through the week, owing to successive western disturbances, the weather phenomenon often associated with rainfall in the northern parts of the country. “For 18th and 19th, the thunderstorm activity will be more severe in the western Himalayan region,” said K Sathi Devi, head of national weather forecasting centre at India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Strong wind conditions are likely to prevail in these regions through this week, the official said. Devi said it is very difficult to assess factors like wind speed at this point.

Delhi and neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana are expected to see thunderstorm accompanied by gusty winds till Saturday, the Met office has warned. Weather conditions in west and central parts of the country will not be so severe, IMD said.


Northern parts of the country have been witnessing severe thunderstorms over the last week, which has resulted in the loss of lives and property destruction. The weather office has also issued duststorm warning for Rajasthan till Friday. In the pre-monsoon season, thunderstorms and hail are quite common, IMD has said. “All this weather activity is only adding to the pre-monsoon rainfall although it will not have any impact on the monsoon showers,” Devi said.