Amidst the rainfall received in certain regions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a three-day orange alert for almost the entire North India.

"Due to Western disturbances a three-day orange alert for rainfall has been issued for almost the entirety of North India. Rainfall in Delhi too will continue for the next three days," ANI News Agency quoted IMD's senior scientist Naresh Kumar as saying.

Kumar said that the thunderstorm activity usually happens in March-April, but has got extended this year. "We have issued a heavy alert for Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana region. Similarly, on the eastern side too, heavy rainfall is expected in Bihar, Jharkhand to the south Karnataka interior region," he said.

"The temperature throughout the country will stay below due to thunderstorms. In the Delhi-NCR region, Haryana and Punjab, the temperature is expected to remain 9-10 degrees below. It can rise by 3-5 degrees once cloud start appearing after 3-4 days," IMD scientist further told ANI.

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As predicted by IMD, various parts of India recorded significant rainfall and thunderstorms on Monday. Tamil Nadu received 8 cm rainfall in Valprai and 5 cm in Palayankottai, while Coastal Andhra Pradesh received 4 cm in Kakinada and 2 cm each in Tuni and Vishakhapatnam. Punalur in Kerala received 5 cm rainfall, and Tirupathi in Rayalaseema received 3 cm.

The Ridge area in Delhi received 2 cm rainfall, while Ajmer in East Rajasthan received 4 cm, Sultanpur in East Uttar Pradesh received 3 cm, and Prayagraj received 2 cm. In East Madhya Pradesh, Satna received 2 cm rainfall. Heavy rainfall was also observed in isolated areas of Tamil Nadu.

Besides, thunderstorms were observed in isolated places over Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra & Kutch, Odisha, Mizoram, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Hailstorms were also reported in isolated places over East Uttar Pradesh, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

In the Delhi-NCR region, the rainfall recorded was 13.8 mm in Safdarjung, 13.0 mm in Lodhi Road, 19.8 mm in Ridge, 0.2 mm in Trace Ayanagar, 17 mm in Narela, 8.5 mm in Mungeshpur, 1.5 mm in Jafarpu, 1.5 mm in Ujwa KVK, 1.2 mm in Pusa, 0.5 mm in Pitampura, 0.5 mm in Gurgaon, 11.0 in Sonipat and 15.5 mm in Baghpat, as per the IMD. The capital city witnessed a significant drop in temperature as the mercury dipped to 19.6 degrees Celsius on the morning of May 1. This is the lowest temperature recorded for the month of May in Delhi since 2003.

The weather department has further predicted that parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, south interior Karnataka, northeast India, central & east Uttar Pradesh, West Bihar, East Madhya Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh and Jammu division might experience light to moderate rainfall with few spell of intense rain, thunderstorm and lighting during next six hours.

The IMD has also forecast thunderstorms across India to continue till May 3, after which they are expected to reduce. The wet spell over the entire country is likely to subside by May 5, according to the weather agency.

It has urged people to follow traffic advisories and take precautions while moving out.

Also Read: Delhi witnesses lowest May temperature since 2003 as IMD predicts thunderstorms