56 dead as heavy rains lash Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has experienced a flood-like situation over the past three days due to a combination of factors, according to meteorological experts. On Friday (September 25) to Sunday morning, the state witnessed intense rainfall, strong winds, and the loss of 56 lives and 46 injuries. Heavy rain fell in districts such as Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, and more, causing widespread damage to houses, trees, and electric poles.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the state received 45.1 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period, far exceeding the usual 1.8 mm. The IMD stated that the flood-like conditions were a result of a deep depression interacting with a Western Disturbance (WD), two weather systems that normally do not interact. The deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal and moved across north-eastern Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Uttar Pradesh, while the WD originated from the west, bringing moisture-laden winds from the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Sea.

The interaction between the two systems caused a trough, an elongated zone of lower pressure, which resulted in isolated extremely heavy rainfall in particular areas of the state. As the depression weakened and moved north-northwestwards, the WD remained high up in the atmosphere, continuing to contribute to the heavy rainfall. These factors combined to create the severe weather conditions experienced in Uttar Pradesh during this period.