The IMD has issued a very heavy rain warning for districts in East Rajasthan and West Madhya Pradesh, including Jaipur, Udaipur, Indore and Bhopal.
The warning points to heavy to very heavy showers across numerous districts in the two states over the coming days.
A well-marked low-pressure system over northern Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh, along with an active monsoon trough, is driving the current spell.
Heavy rain is also forecast for Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as the system tracks across the north.
The IMD projects the rainfall to persist in Madhya Pradesh through at least September 8.
Maharashtra is expected to see comparatively lighter rain, with light to moderate showers forecast for Palghar, Thane, Mumbai and Raigad, and no heavy-rain warning issued for the state.
Delhi-NCR is also under a heavy rain and thunderstorm forecast, with daytime temperatures expected to range between 35 and 36 degrees Celsius.
The rainfall pattern is being driven by a well-marked low-pressure system positioned over northern Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh, combined with an active monsoon trough.
The IMD projects sustained rainfall activity to continue in Madhya Pradesh through at least September 8, indicating the wet spell is not expected to ease quickly.
Authorities in the affected districts have been advised to remain alert for waterlogging and localised flooding given the intensity of the forecast rainfall.
Heavy rainfall is also expected across Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as the same system moves through north India.
Bihar has also been placed under a heavy shower alert, with the monsoon trough extending its influence further east across the Gangetic plains.
In the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are all expected to see similar heavy rainfall conditions.
South India faces a different hazard, with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 km/h forecast over Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and interior Karnataka.
Photo by McKay Savage, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0