The red alert advises people to take action, while the orange alert tells them to be prepared.
Forecast for heavy rain in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and western Uttar Pradesh as well strong showers in some parts of Haryana and Delhi comes as a huge relief to the region, which has been suffering a monsoon rainfall deficiency between 34% and 47% over the past couple of weeks.
Between July 9 and 12, heavy rainfall totalling over 20 cm is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh will receive the heaviest rainfall in the next few days, it said.
IMD said a low-pressure area from the Bay of Bengal is moving northwards, bringing torrential rain with it.
Parts of east and north-east India will also experience the effects of this. West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya have also been issued alerts for extremely heavy rainfall over the coming week.
Rainfall across other regions of India has been healthy. Central India leads the charge, with 26% above normal rain. Overall, the country is seeing a 13% surplus, which bodes well for the kharif crop output for the season.