light to moderate rain was experienced in Dehradun and other parts of the State prior to the start of the 72-hour heavy rain warning period starting Thursday evening. In view of the meteorological department forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to occur at isolated places especially in Uttarkashi,
Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Nainital and Champawat districts during the next 72 hours, chief secretary Shatrughna Singh on Thursday issued an advisory to all district magistrates instructing them to remain alert and observe the necessary precautionary measures especially during the said period.
In the State capital Dehradun, spells of light to medium rainfall were experienced from the morning till early evening resulting in the long standing problems of water logging, resulting traffic congestion and spread of contamination due to overflowing sewers and improperly disposed garbage which was spread around in the open public space after being carried along by the rainwater. However, no major disaster due to climatic factors had been reported from different parts of the State till the time of this report being filed on Thursday night. Though the spells of rain brought some relief from the level of humidity being experienced in Dehradun, no drastic change in the ambient temperature had been reported due to rainfall in different parts of the State. According to the measurement data released by the State meteorological centre, among the various parts of the State which experienced rainfall on Thursday, the maximum and minimum temperature was measured at 31 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius respectively in the State capital Dehradun. likewise, the maximum and minimum temperatures measured in various towns of the State on Thursday were 34 degrees Celsius and 26.5 degrees Celsius respectively in Pantnagar, 20.2 degrees Celsius and 15.7 degrees Celsius in Mukteshwar and 23 degrees Celsius and 18 degrees Celsius in New Tehri. According to the weather forecast for Uttarakhand on Friday, the state is very likely to experience moderate rain/thunderstorm at most places though heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places especially in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Nainital and Champawat districts during the next 72 hours from Thursday evening. The weather forecast for the State capital on Friday states likelihood of generally cloudy sky with possibility of a few spells of rain/thundershowers also likely to occur. The maximum and minimum temperatures in Dehradun on Friday are likely to be about 30ºC and 24ºC respectively.