IMD weather alert: Heavy rain for Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra; no showers in Delhi

THE India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds across several states on Saturday, October 31, amid a warning that a new weather system is brewing in the Bay of Bengal, even as the remnants of Cyclone Arnab continue to impact inland areas.

Areas including Arunachal Pradesh, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala may experience heavy rainfall, while thunderstorms accompanied by strong winds are expected in states such as Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Telangana.

Delhi, meanwhile, is expected to see partly cloudy skies, with no rainfall.

Delhi weather today

No rainfall is expected in Delhi today, October 31, a day after the city recorded its lowest October day temperature in 75 years, with the maximum plunging to 20.7 degrees Celsius amid two days of persistent rain.

Delhi is, however, expected to experience a partly cloudy sky with winds blowing from the northwest and southeast at 5–10 kmph.

“The maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi are likely to be in the range of 26 °C to 28 °C and 15 °C to 17 °C respectively,” IMD noted.

On Friday, Delhi also recorded its wettest October day in four years and the sixth-wettest since 1951. The city also logged its cleanest October air on Friday, with the AQI settling at 60, the lowest since October 10, 2022, when it was 44.

New Depression in the Bay of Bengal

The IMD warned of a new weather system brewing in the Bay of Bengal. A low-pressure area lying over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining regions is intensifying today.

“It is very likely to concentrate into a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Andaman Sea around 31 October,” the Met Dept said in its official release.

Following this development, the system is expected to move westward and then northward toward the Andhra Pradesh coast over the next two days.

Meanwhile, yesterday's well-marked low-pressure area—the remnant of Cyclone Arnab—has weakened and currently lies over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining East Madhya Pradesh.

Heavy Rain Alerts: Isolated heavy rainfall is expected in Arunachal Pradesh, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala.

Severe Thunderstorms (40–50 kmph winds): Lightning and strong gusty winds are likely to hit Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal.

Moderate Thunderstorms (30–40 kmph winds): Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Interior Karnataka are expected to experience lightning and gusty winds, with strong surface winds, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

General Thunderstorms: Isolated lightning and thunderstorms are expected across Coastal Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.

Bengal, Assam under flood alert as GLOF hits Bhutan

West Bengal shifted 12,000 people living along the Sankosh in Alipurduar district to safety. At the same time, Assam closely monitored the situation in vulnerable areas of Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts after the river's water level rose following a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in adjoining Bhutan, officials said.

Water level in the Sankosh, which forms the inter-state boundary between Assam and West Bengal, rose by nearly two feet since this morning after a glacial lake in Bhutan's Gasa region burst its banks on Thursday evening.

The incident triggered flood alerts in parts of north Bengal and Assam, with authorities keeping a close watch on the water levels of rivers flowing down from the Himalayan kingdom.