Weather LIVE Updates: Beas Overflows in Himachal, 'Red' Alert in 6 Uttarakhand Districts; More Rains Likely In Bihar, Jharkhand

Ample monsoon rains have accelerated the planting of summer-sown rice in India, according to the latest farm ministry data, after a slow start to the sowing season that began in June.

Crop-nourishing monsoon rains picked up in July and August, allowing farmers to plant 32.8 million hectares (81 million acres) with rice by Friday, up 5.1% from the same period last year.

An increase in rice planting in India, the world’s second-biggest producer of grain, will ease concerns that supplies could be squeezed after New Delhi, in a surprise move late last month, ordered a halt to its largest rice export category.

Five people, including three pilgrims from Gujarat, died after being buried under the debris of a landslide on the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag district as the MeT department on Friday warned of heavy rains in six districts of Uttarakhand for the next few days.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami undertook a ground inspection of the rain-hit Kotdwar area where a man had gone missing in a landslide a couple of days ago and several bridges were damaged, cutting off a large population from the rest of the state.

Assembly Speaker and local MLA Ritu Khanduri was also present with Dhami doing his ground inspection. Dhami directed Pauri District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan to work on the repair of the damaged bridge in Gadighati. He also inspected the alternative bridge over Malan River connecting Kotdwar and Bhabar.

Delhi on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 27.3 degrees Celsius, normal for the season, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The weather office has predicted strong surface winds during the daytime. It has also forecast generally cloudy skies with light rain.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius, it said. At 8.30 am, the humidity was recorded at 69 per cent, the Met office said.

In Delhi, warm and humid is expected on Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted light to very light rain in Delhi on Monday, August 14.

As per IMD, there is a forecast of light to moderate scattered and fairly widespread rainfall in northwest India till Sunday.

There’s a possibility of isolated heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh during this period, and over Uttarakhand from till August 15. Additionally, Punjab and Haryana could experience rainfall on Sunday, while west Uttar Pradesh might have rain on Sunday, and Monday. East Uttar Pradesh is also likely to witness rainfall on Sunday, it said

Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu also received light to moderate rain on Saturday, with the weather agency predicting thunderstorms and moderate showers at isolated places over the state, Puducherry, and Karaikal area.

Heavy rain wreaked havoc at many places in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, causing floods and landslides and forcing the closure of over 300 roads, as Monsoon bounced back in the hill state.

The local MeT office has issued an orange alert of heavy to very rainfall on Sunday and a yellow warning of heavy rain on Monday.

Twelve passengers were injured when a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus met with an accident following caving-in of the road near Kango on the Mandi-Shimla highway in Mandi district in the wee hours, officials said. The passengers had a narrow escape as the bus stopped over the sunken stretch of the road and did not roll into a khud, they said.

The Beas River continues to overflow in Himachal Pradesh, where an orange alert has been issued for Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, and Una districts.

In Uttarakhand, the Met Department has issued ‘red’ alerts in Uttarakhand’s Tehri, Dehradun, Pauri, Champawat, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar districts till Monday.