Guwahati, March 21 — With campaigning for the Assam assembly elections set to peak, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of a rainy fortnight across the Northeast that could affect rallies and outdoor events through early April. The IMD’s weekly outlook, issued on March 19, predicts above-normal rainfall for the region over the next two weeks and maximum temperatures that will be normal to below normal.
The forecast said “scattered to fairly widespread and light to moderate rainfall with gusty winds speed reaching 30–50 kmph likely over Northeast India on March 19 and 21 with the possibility of thunderstorm and lightning over the region during the next seven days.” It added that “fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate rainfall” is likely to continue over the Western Himalayan region and Northeast India during the week of March 26 to April 1, and that rain is unlikely to cease completely even after April 1.
IMD officials attributed the persistent wet spell to favourable meteorological conditions and a strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal, saying the period until the beginning of April “is likely to be rainy in almost the entire State.” Heavy recent rainfall has already been recorded: East and Northeast India saw 267% excess rainfall last week and an overall 73% excess since March 1. From March 1 to March 19, Assam recorded 98.6 mm of rain against a normal 30 mm.
Most districts reported “excess” to “largely excess” rainfall, with the exceptions of Karbi Anglong, Sivasagar, Sribhumi and Tinsukia. Kamrup Metro received 56.1 mm since March 1 against a normal of 15.3 mm, and Guwahati recorded 33.7 mm on March 16 — the tenth-highest 24-hour March total since records began in 1951.
Filing of nominations has begun for the assembly polls, which are scheduled for April 9; campaigning will close on April 7. Several national and state leaders — including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and senior Congress leaders — are expected to address rallies in the run-up to polling. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said he plans four to five rallies a day during the campaign period. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have criticised the Election Commission’s short campaign window, a dispute likely to gain sharper focus if heavy rain disrupts planned events.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/assam/rain-threat-looms-over-assam-poll-campaign-as-imd-predicts-wet-fortnight-1609676
Category: Assam
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Publish Date: 2026-03-21 08:54:00
