14 Dead as Monsoon Rain Intensifies Across UP

Heavy monsoon rainfall has claimed at least 14 lives across Uttar Pradesh in a series of rain-related incidents, including lightning strikes and a wall collapse, according to state officials. Eight of the deaths were reported in the Gorakhpur and Basti divisions after lightning strikes, while two people died in Bulandshahr district when a wall collapsed. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has confirmed that monsoon activity is now fully active across the state, bringing both relief from heat and destructive rainfall in equal measure.

Najibabad Records Third-Highest Rainfall Since 1952

Najibabad in Bijnor district recorded 306 mm of rainfall within 24 hours, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Lucknow, making it the third-highest rainfall figure recorded at the location since measurements began in 1952. Other districts also recorded exceptionally heavy rainfall: Etah received 222 mm, Sambhal 204 mm, Agra 146 mm, Maharajganj 104 mm, and Siddharthnagar 78.6 mm, officials said.

Lucknow, the state capital, recorded its best rainfall of the current monsoon season so far, with 27.2 mm logged on Thursday. The rain brought the city's maximum temperature down to 33 degrees Celsius and its minimum to 27.2 degrees Celsius, both slightly below the day's earlier readings.

Sharp Temperature Drop Across Western UP

The intense rainfall has triggered a significant fall in temperatures across several districts. Aligarh recorded the sharpest drop, with temperatures falling 9.4 degrees Celsius below normal, followed by Meerut at 8.3 degrees below normal and Muzaffarnagar at 7.6 degrees below normal. Kanpur, Etawah, and Bareilly also recorded below-normal temperatures, officials from the Regional Meteorological Centre said.

Lightning Strikes and Wall Collapse Among the Fatal Incidents

Among the confirmed casualties, two women died after being struck by lightning in separate villages of Sant Kabir Nagar district. In Kushinagar, a 14-year-old boy was killed by a lightning strike while accompanying his mother to harvest vegetables from their field, officials said.

In Bulandshahr's Khurja area, a wall collapsed onto makeshift tents erected beside it in Mundakheda village, burying six people. Circle Officer Shobhit Kumar said two people died in the incident while four others were injured, two of whom were referred to a higher medical centre. Rescue operations at the site have since been completed, with officials confirming no one else remains trapped.

Orange Alert for 17 Terai Districts, Yellow Alert for 29 Others

The IMD has issued an orange alert, indicating extremely heavy rainfall, for 17 districts primarily in the Terai belt: Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Siddharth Nagar, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, and Budaun.

A yellow alert has been issued for an additional 29 districts spanning both eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, Gonda, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Unnao, Barabanki, Raebareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Kasganj, Etah, and Auraiya. In total, the IMD's rain alert now covers 46 districts across the state.

Schools Shut Across Multiple Districts

Authorities have ordered school closures in several districts as a precaution. In Meerut, the District Basic Education Officer ordered classes from 1st to 12th shut, citing three consecutive days of rain-driven waterlogging combined with an active orange alert for storms, heavy rain, and hail. Similar closures were ordered in Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, and Saharanpur.

In Kasganj, District Magistrate Pranay Singh ordered all nursery-level and classes 1 through 12 in both government and private schools to remain closed. Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr also declared school holidays amid the disruption.

Waterlogging and Infrastructure Damage in Noida, Ghaziabad

Heavy rain also disrupted normal life in Noida and neighbouring Ghaziabad, with widespread waterlogging, traffic snarls, and vehicle breakdowns on flooded roads reported across the region. In Noida's Vasundhara Sector 13, a section of a residential road caved in beside an under-construction basement, sending a parked car and scooter into the resulting pit and tilting a nearby electricity pole into the crater. No injuries were reported in that incident.

What Comes Next

According to senior scientist Atul Kumar Singh at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow, the current spell of rainfall is being driven by a low-pressure system over northwest Madhya Pradesh and an associated upper-air cyclonic circulation, which is expected to move north-northeastwards over the region in the coming days. Both eastern and western Uttar Pradesh are likely to continue receiving rain until at least July 13, officials said. Authorities have urged residents in alert zones to avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from vulnerable structures and low-lying areas, with relief and monitoring teams on standby across the affected districts.