Mounting worry: Heavy rain predicted

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 26 

Relief and rescue operations in the quake-ravaged Himalayan nation could be severely hampered. 

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)  has predicted fairly widespread rain and thundershowers over Nepal and its adjoining areas in the next 24 hours. 

The department suggested people should take precautions against wet and bleak weather and possible landslides at vulnerable sites.  According to the UN, around 6.6 million persons have been affected due to the quake. Rain would not just hamper the relief and rescue measures, but also increase the possibility of an outbreak of infectious diseases.

The reason for the impending inclement weather is the presence of a Western Disturbance in the middle troposphere over east Nepal to west-central Bay of Bengal, says the IMD.

The moist air incursion from Bay of Bengal is taking place over eastern parts of India and Nepal. It will result in a widespread rain in the region. The rain is likely to continue on April 27 and 28 with possibility of isolated heavy thunderstorm in the eastern part of Nepal, said IMD officials.

Weather over Kathmandu is most likely to remain cloudy with few spells of rain/thunderstorm activity during the next 24 hours, they said. 

The sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim would experience fairly widespread rain and thundershowers. Scattered thunderstorm activity over Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh would also occur during the next two to three days.