The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for six districts in Haryana on Saturday, warning of lightning, thunderstorms and gusty winds alongside heavy to intense rainfall, according to a district-wise nowcast bulletin issued at 8.12 a.m. and valid until 11.12 a.m.
The red warning covers Gurgaon, Jhajjar, Jind, Rewari, Rohtak and Sonipat in Haryana, where the IMD forecast wind speeds of around 60 kmph and rainfall exceeding 15 mm per hour over the next two to three hours.
An orange alert, indicating slightly less severe conditions with wind speeds of 40-60 kmph and rainfall between 5-15 mm per hour or more, has been issued for districts spread across six states.
In Haryana, the orange warning applies to Bhiwani, Charki Dadri, Fatehabad, Hisar, Karnal, Mahendragarh, Panipat and Sirsa. In neighbouring Punjab, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot are under alert, while Jammu and Kashmir's Doda, Jammu, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Samba and Udhampur districts have also been flagged.
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Madhya Pradesh's Panna, Rewa and Satna districts are under the orange warning, as are Badaun, Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Shahjahanpur and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. In the Northeast, Assam's Sonitpur and Udalguri districts round off the list.
The IMD has advised residents in the affected regions to stay alert and take necessary precautions, including avoiding shelter under trees or weak structures, checking road and traffic conditions, and steering clear of flood- or landslide-prone areas.
The department has also asked people to follow any further advisories issued by concerned local agencies.
The nowcast warning, a short-range forecast typically issued for a window of a few hours, comes amid an active monsoon spell affecting several parts of north, central and northeast India.
The IMD's district-wise bulletins are updated periodically through the day as weather systems evolve, and residents have been urged to check for updated warnings on the department's website for the latest situation in their region.
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