Flooding turns deadly in northeast India with daily downpours to continue into this weekend

Despite the India Meteorological Department declaring the start of the monsoon across New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, July 5, rainfall is expected to fall well short of normal over the next week or two.

The monsoon low that tracked westward across northern India last week brought an initial surge of rainfall to the NCR; however, this low will drift eastward and stall over northeast India this week and take the downpours with it.

"There can continue to be showers and thunderstorms around this the NCR this week, but rainfall may average below normal until more substantial rain arrives late in the month," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.

Northwestern Rajasthan may have to wait even longer for the rainy season to commence after missing out on the latest round of monsoon rain.

"While there can be light rain during late July in northwestern Rajasthan, more significant rain may stay absent until early August," Nicholls said.

Hot and dry weather will instead hold across northwestern Rajasthan, with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures soaring to around 43 C (110 F) in the hottest locations daily into this weekend.

Mumbai was inundated by torrential rainfall again which caused travel chaos on Monday as more than 100 mm (4 inches) of rain fell within six hours.

More downpours are possible in Mumbai this week; however, flooding is forecast to be more localized and less severe than last week when some of the worst flooding in more than a decade brought transportation to a standstill.

The heavy rainfall has caused deadly flooding and multiple wall collapses within Maharashtra this month. There are varying reports to the number of killed. CNN reports that the death toll reached at least 43 as of Wednesday, July 3.

In late June, a separate wall collapse in Pune killed 16 people living in tin-roofed huts following heavy rainfall.

The most widespread flooding through this weekend is expected from eastern Uttar Pradesh to Bihar and into Bangladesh and northeastern India as a broad monsoon low drifts eastward.

Recent flooding has already led to at least 4 deaths in the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam, according to NDTV.

In Arunachal Pradesh, operations began on Wednesday to rescue more than 800 people that were stranded by mudslides as heavy rainfall continued across the area.

Rainfall totals of 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 500 mm (20 inches) will be common across the region through this weekend.

While the downpours will help reduce the rainfall deficit brought on by the delayed start to the monsoon, residents will have to remain vigilant for the dangers that too much rain in a short amount of time can bring.

Persistent downpours can lead to life-threatening flash flooding, along with risks of electrocution. Wall collapses and mudslides can also endanger residents in the hardest-hit areas.

Flooded roads and railways can disrupt motorists and train networks. Airline passengers may also face delays.

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