Monsoon intensifies in Himachal, more rains to hit Delhi

Heavy rain alert continued in Himachal Pradesh as the monsoon intensified in the various districts of the state.

A pilgrim who set out on Shrikhand Mahadev Yatra in Kullu district died because of the extreme cold near Thachru.

"For the past two days, it has been raining heavily in almost all the districts of Himachal Pradesh. Some districts are experiencing heavy rainfall while others are receiving light showers. In the past 24 hours, Kangra district has experienced the most rainfall," Meteorological Department Director Manmohan Singh, told ANI.

The rains are likely to continue for the next four-five days. The local MeT office has predicted heavy rains at isolated places in lower and mid hill areas over the next four days till July 11.

Thick fog engulfed Shimla and its adjoining areas and vehicular traffic was disrupted as heavy rains (71 mm) caused traffic jams.

The rains triggered landslides at some places in Shimla -- Sirmaur and Kullu districts in the interiors, but all the major highways were open, officials said.

The levels of major rivers and their tributaries have risen following heavy rains but all the rivers are flowing below the danger mark. The rains have also increased the water level in reservoirs of hydropower projects, resulting in increased hydropower generation.

Wet Wednesday for Delhi

More rains are expected on Wednesday in Delhi where the temperature settled at a comfortable 24.8 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average.

The maximum temperature is expected to be around 33 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal after a day the city recorded 37.6 mm rainfall.

The Met has forecast generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms in some areas.

Heavy downpour on Tuesday left thousands of commuters stranded for hours as traffic jams were witnessed in various parts of the in the national capital due to water-logging.

Traffic snarls were witnessed in several parts of the city including major intersections such as ITO, Kashmere Gate, South Extension, Laxmi Nagar, Ashram Chowk, Moolchand underpass, Dhaula Kuan, Azad Market, Gurudwara Nanakpura, Badarpur, Apsara Border, Yamuna Vihar, Okhla mandi, Uttamnagar, Rajouri Chowk and Nehru Place.

The Safdarjung observatory which is considered the official reading for the city, recorded 37.6 mm rainfall while areas under Palam, Ayanagar, Ridge and Lodhi Road recorded 51.6 mm, 51 mm, 24.4 mm and 41.7 mm rainfall respectively in the last 24 hours, a MeT department official said.