BHUBANESWAR : After receiving 17 per cent excess rainfall in June, more showers are likely in store for the state in the month of July too.
In its monthly outlook for rainfall issued on Monday, the IMD said the state is likely to receive above normal rains in July.
Addressing mediapersons virtually earlier in the day, IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said there is a high chance of heavy rainfall in east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, adjoining areas of Vidarbha and Telangana and parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra this month.
Though there is no flood threat in Odisha so far, Mohapatra advised the state governments to monitor the catchment areas of rivers like Godavari, Mahanadi and Krishna. “Our models show a high probability of above-normal rainfall in the upper Mahanadi catchment areas, which includes Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. There are several other rivers in the region. We should closely watch rainfall activity and the water levels in the reservoirs,” he said.
Even as parts of the state continue to experience intense rainfall activity under the influence of a low pressure area over north-west Bay of Bengal, adjoining West Bengal and Bangladesh, the national weather forecaster has indicated that a fresh weather system may form between July 4 and 10. An upper-air cyclonic circulation/low pressure area is likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal between July 4 and 10 and move west-northwestwards, it said.
The met office has predicted very heavy rains in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts on Tuesday.