State receives first seasonal rainfall, hailstorm
Heavy rainfall likely in next 48 hours in northeast, orange alert issued
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, March 15 2023:
Seasonal rainfall accompanied by hailstorm and lightning brought a sigh of relief and hope to people of the state, who are reeling under acute water crisis.
All of a sudden there was lightning followed by a loud thunderclap in parts of Manipur and then light rains started falling in different areas of the state including Imphal on Wednesday - the first seasonal rains.
The monsoon season normally starts from around July and lasts till September, officials said.
The rainfall in Manipur is a bit unpredictable with irregular shower spells covering the entire state.
The monsoon season is usually accompanied by strong winds and the temperature gets a bit colder.
On the first day of the rains of this season in the midst of light rains and partly strong wind sweeping across the state, the rain clouds loom large over the sky.
The officials said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts intense showers and thunderstorms throughout the week in the state.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, among other parts of the Northeast from March 15 to 17.The weather department has predicted rain and thunderstorms in these northeastern states.
Most of the districts of Manipur reported rainfall on Wednesday.
According to rainfall data provided by ICAR, 0.6 mm rainfall was recorded at ICAR complex Lamphelpat, 2.2 mm in Ukhrul, 0.2 mm in Bishnupur, 1.2 mm in Churachandpur, 0.4 mm in Imphal East, 0.8 mm in Imphal West, 0.6 mm in Kakching, 0.2 mm in Noney, 2.4 mm in Senapati, 3.6 mm in Tamenglong and 2 mm in Tengnoupal.
Hailstone was reported in parts of Ukhrul district, Pangei in Imphal East and Langol area in Imphal West district.
There is also report of lightning strike at Meitram in Imphal West district but no damage was reported in the incident.
IMD report said that a fresh active Western Disturbance has been forecast in several north-eastern states from March 16 onwards.
As per the reports, a low-level south-easterly moist air incursion from the Bay of Bengal into east central, east and northeast India and its interaction with the middle tropospheric westerly trough will lead to heavy rainfall in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
According to the weather report, heavy rainfall, gusty winds, thunderstorm and lightning are likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim from March 16 .
The maximum temperature in Guwahati-Dispur is likely to hover around 27 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature will be around 18 degrees Celsius.
The temperature is expected to decrease by 1-2 degrees in the next few days.
On the other hand, Ac-cuweather report predicts rainfall activities from March 18 to 20 with a prediction of 28 mm rainfall on Sunday, March 19 .
The people of Manipur, particularly those in the urban pockets have been enduring serious inconveniences after almost all the government-run water supply schemes ceased operation due to drying up of rivers, lakes, water reservoirs, and wetland areas, which feed these schemes.
The people in the valley and hills are almost facing a water crisis although the government claimed to have given drinking water supplies in some areas of the Imphal East district from the Thoubal multi-purposed dam through the Chingkhei Ching water treatment plant.
The Imphal city faces a water crisis due to the drying up of the Singda multiJ purpose dam which supplies drinking water to the city dwellers.
As such, the first seasonal rains would provide the much-needed relief to the people who are facing a water crisis for the past many days.
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