Rain likely to dampen festive spirit in Tripura and Sikkim

Rain is likely to dampen the festive spirit in Tripura, with the IMD predicting more showers till Bijaya Dashami.
In its five-day special weather forecast for Durga Puja, the Agartala Meteorological Centre said light to moderate rain or thundershower is very likely to occur in the state till October 2.
“Light to moderate rain or thundershower is very likely to occur at one or two places over all the districts of the state,” it said.
Disaster Management Authority’s project manager Sarat Kumar Das said since the intensity of the rain will be less, no alert will be issued.
Anticipating a downpour, people started visiting Durga Puja pandals in Agartala since Saturday night.
Around 250 community Durga Pujas are happening in the city this year.
Sikkim: Heavy rain is likely to mar the Dussehra celebrations in Sikkim this year, an official said on Sunday. Gantok Met Centre’s Director Gopinath Raha said the Himalayan town has been recording higher-than-usual temperatures over the last few days, with the mercury reaching 26.6 degrees Celsius.
“However, the current warm spell will soon give way to cooler, wetter days. A chain of low-pressure systems forming over the Bay of Bengal is drawing in moisture, which is likely to lead to a spell of widespread rain across the state,” he said. “While mornings may remain largely clear through September’s end, cloud build-up is expected from October 1. From October 2 onwards, rainfall is likely to strengthen and persist for four to five days, overlapping with the height of Dusshera celebrations,” he added.
Raha said sudden thunderstorms are also very likely, cautioning that even clear skies could quickly shift, leading to heavy downpours.
Sikkim’s seasonal rainfall deficit currently stands at around 9 per cent, which meteorologists classify as near-normal.