Southwest monsoon arrives in Madhya Pradesh; orange, yellow alert issued in parts of state

Bhopal, June 10: Southwest monsoon arrived in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, seven days ahead of its normal course, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for districts in Jabalpur and Shahdol divisions.

Several parts of the state, including Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior, received showers in the last 24 hours, said P K Saha, senior meteorologist of IMD Bhopal. "The northern limit of monsoon passes through Betul and Mandla districts of Madhya Pradesh. With this, monsoon reached parts of the state.

Usually, the advent of monsoon takes place on June 17, however, this is for the first time in recent memory that it has hit the state seven days ahead," Saha said.

The department has issued orange and yellow alerts, which are valid till Friday morning.

An orange alert has been issued with a forecast of heavy rain, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds at the speed of 30 to 40 KMPH for isolated places in districts of Jabalpur and Shahdol divisions, while similar prediction has been made for six districts, including Betul and Khandwa, it was stated.

A yellow alert of thunderstorms with lightning and wind gusts at the speed of 30 to 40 KMPH has been issued for isolated places in Bhopal, Sagar and Gwalior and two other divisions, and nine districts including Indore will witness similar weather conditions, the IMD said.