Nagpur, India- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'Red Alert' for East Vidarbha on Thursday, forecasting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places between July 19 and 20. The affected areas include Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli, and Chandrapur districts, which are expected to experience heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and lightning on July 19. Nagpur, Amravati, and Wardha districts are also likely to receive extreme rainfall and thunderstorms on Friday.

An 'Orange Alert' has been issued for East Vidarbha for July 19 and 20, with other parts of Vidarbha expected to receive isolated moderate to heavy rains until July 20.

A press release from the IMD stated that a low-pressure area has formed over the west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal, likely to move northwestward towards the Odisha coast in the next 2-3 days. The monsoon trough at mean sea level now extends from Jaisalmer through Kota, Guna, Mandla, Pendra Road, Gopalpur, and southeastward to the low-pressure center, reaching up to 1.5 km above sea level.

Monsoon rains activated across Vidarbha on Wednesday and are expected to continue until Sunday. Despite good rains on Wednesday, most parts of Vidarbha remained dry on Thursday. The dry weather caused Nagpur's day temperature to rise by 1.6°C in the past 24 hours. However, moderate patchy rains in the evening provided some relief, though they led to waterlogging and power cuts in some areas.

Amravati received the highest rainfall on Thursday with 8 mm, followed by Gadchiroli (5 mm), Bhandara (1 mm), Gondia (1 mm), and Nagpur (0.4 mm). Other parts of Vidarbha remained dry. Akola recorded the highest maximum temperature at 33.5°C, followed closely by Nagpur (33.4°C) and Gondia (33.2°C), with the remaining areas reporting maximum temperatures above 30°C.