Very heavy monsoon rain to dominate East and Central India on Tuesday

A depression over coastal West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh is set to move inland, bringing intense rain across several states. The IMD has warned of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, with risks of flooding, landslides and travel disruption.A group of devotees walk along a road, covering themselves with plastic sheets to shield against a monsoon rain shower, in Kolkata. (Photo: PTI)A low-pressure area that formed over coastal West Bengal and adjoining north Bay of Bengal on Sunday has intensified into a depression, triggering widespread rain alerts across eastern, central and northern India.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated locations likely to receive extremely heavy rain exceeding 20 cm over the next 24 hours.According to the IMD, the depression was centered over coastal West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh on Monday and is expected to move inland, spreading intense rainfall across several states through the week. For Tuesday, August 18, the most severe weather is expected over Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The IMD has issued a red alert for parts of Odisha and Jharkhand, warning of potentially dangerous rainfall totals.Districts including Purba Medinipur, Jhargram and Bankura in West Bengal are likely to witness isolated extremely heavy rainfall. In Odisha, Balasore and Keonjhar have been placed under red alert, with rainfall exceeding 20 cm possible in some locations. The weather agency has also forecast very heavy rainfall over parts of Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as the depression moves northwestward.Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where heavy rainfall could trigger localised flooding, landslides and disruptions in hilly areas.The influence of the system is expected to persist beyond Tuesday. On August 19, red alert conditions are likely to continue over Jharkhand, while Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, eastern Madhya Pradesh and western Uttar Pradesh remain under orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall.By the latter half of the week, the rain belt is expected to gradually shift westward, bringing significant rainfall to Madhya Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Northeastern states including Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are also expected to receive widespread rainfall.The IMD has advised residents in affected regions to remain alert for waterlogging, flash floods, rising river levels and travel disruptions as the depression continues to strengthen the monsoon across large parts of the country.- EndsPublished By: Sibu Kumar TripathiPublished On: Aug 17, 2026 19:30 IST