The Monsoon conditions are turning favorable for development of the southwest Monsoon over Delhi, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during the next 24 hours. Meanwhile,  heavy rains triggered flash floods in parts of Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu region disrupting normal life on Monday even as the deaths due to lightning strikes in several states climbed to 71, including 42 in Uttar Pradesh.

Southwest Monsoon rains, which reached most parts of north India gave Delhi and parts of Haryana a miss. The IMD has issued an orange alert for Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, and yellow alert for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for Tuesday with warning of heavy rains.

On Monday  to moderate rains also occurred at few places over eastern Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places over western parts of the state. Rainfall was recorded in Kannauj, Allahabad, Jalaun, Siddharth Nagar, Shravasti, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Agra, Maharajganj, Balrampur, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Hamirpur and Shahjahanpur.

The flash floods also reportedly damaged several buildings, including one housing a government school, as bad weather led to the closure of the Kangra airport at Gaggal. The district administration instructed tourists to postpone their visit to the hill town in view of the heavy rains which also disrupted traffic movement on the Mandi-Pathankot highway.

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