India is set to experience extreme heat during the April to June period, with the central and western peninsular parts expected to face the worst impact, the IMD said on Monday as the country prepares for seven-phase general elections from April 19.
At least 14 people have died in rain-related incidents as thunderstorms, strong winds and dust storms battered several parts of Gujarat, India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds of up to 50-60 kmph across the state for the next few days. Strong winds uprooted trees, hoardings, and pillars, and parts of houses collapsed in several districts, leaving many injured. The deaths were reported in Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Dahod, Aravalli and Vadodara districts of Gujarat on Monday and Sunday. The IMD has also forecast heavy rainfall in isolated parts of Banaskantha, Kutch, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Anand districts in the next three days.
In a notice, IMD said, 'VSCS BIPARJOY over east-central Arabian Sea, lay centred at 0530hrs IST of 08th June, near lat 13.9N & long 66.0E, about 860km west-southwest of Goa, 910km southwest of Mumbai, would intensify further & move north-northwestwards.'
Incessant rains with intermittent spells of moderate to heavy showers since Friday morning have slowed down public transport services and traffic in Mumbai.
Heavy overnight rains severely affected parts of the city on Monday, leading to water-logged roads, inundated residential areas and traffic pile-up, as the city braces for more spells in the coming days.
Normally, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17 and withdraws completely by October 15.
Intense rains lashed Kerala on Sunday, uprooting trees across the state, including one that fell on a moving train in Thrissur and another that caused a fatality in Kozhikode. Houses were damaged, rivers were in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised as the southwest monsoon gained strength. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) placed five northern districts - Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod - under a 'red alert' for the day, predicting extremely heavy rainfall there.
The IMD issued a "Nowcast" warning, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places in Mumbai in the next three to four hours.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
Several areas of Tamil Nadu remain inundated after hours of heavy to moderate rainfall in the region. Water entered houses and markets in the low-lying residential areas of Erode district due to heavy rainfall throughout the night.
Houses in low lying areas of Kerala were flooded in the heavy rains, while the accompanying strong winds uprooted trees, damaged homes and caused power disruptions, throwing normal way of life into disarray across the state.
Heavy rains across India have led to widespread flooding, causing damage to infrastructure, displacement of residents, and disruption of normal life. Rescue efforts are underway in affected areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cloudy skies with the possibility of heavy rainfall at a few places in the city and suburbs in the next 24 hours.
The heatwave alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri on February 25 and 26, the IMD said.
The India meteorological department said heatwave conditions will persist for at least two more days.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
Heavy overnight rain in Gurugram caused widespread waterlogging and traffic gridlock, bringing the city to a standstill. Several residential areas and major roads were inundated, leading to commuter chaos.
A 22-year-old youth and a person with disability died, while at least 11 were injured, in separate rain-related incidents in the national capital on Wednesday evening. The incidents occurred amid sudden changes in weather in Delhi, as a rainy storm marked by hail wrecked havoc across the city, throwing traffic out of gear as far as Delhi-Noida, Delhi-Ghaziabad, and Delhi-Gurugram roads and uprooting several trees.
Heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri and Guna districts have led to a flood-like situation, stranding people including school children. The Army has been called in for rescue and relief operations. Other districts are also affected, and the IMD has issued a heavy rain alert.
Heavy monsoon rains battered Karnataka's coastal belt for the third consecutive day on Monday, severely disrupting normal life in Dakshina Kannada district, prompting authorities to issue a red alert and deploy disaster response teams. A red alert indicates extremely heavy rainfall of over 20 cm in 24 hours, and will remain in force for the next five days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Several parts of Mangaluru city reported waterlogging and traffic snarls, while minor incidents of landslides were reported from hilly regions across the district. The district administration has directed schools and composite colleges to remain shut on 27 and 28 following the IMD issuing a red alert. Instructions were also issued to relocate residents living in vulnerable hillside and riverside areas to safer locations. The authorities have sought prompt action from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) following complaints of water intrusion in residential areas due to ongoing highway construction works.
A strong dust storm and gusty winds followed by rain hit Delhi-NCR on Friday evening, causing trees to be uprooted in several parts and leading to traffic congestion. Thunderstorms caused power disruptions in several parts of the city, primarily due to trees and branches falling on electricity cables. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert, recommending people stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
'The lakes up there were already at the brink due to accumulated rainwater, and then snowmelt occurred.' 'When one lake breached, it triggered a cascading effect -- other lakes breached subsequently.'
This would be due to early monsoon onset, abundant precipitation in the soil and the government's higher minimum support price (MSP) for farmers, the USDA said in its assessment.
The very severe cyclonic storm was located over the east-central Arabian Sea located 840-kilometer west-southwest of Goa and 870 km west-southwest of Mumbai at 11.30 pm on June 8, the IMD said.
India is likely to see above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures in most parts of the country in the March to May period, IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said at a press conference.
The frequency of short-duration, heavy rainfall events over central India and long-duration heavy rainfall events over the north-western coasts of the country has risen considerably in the last few decades.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has an extensive damaging potential and it is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat the most, the India meteorological department said on Tuesday.
India is likely to see above-normal rainfall in the four-month monsoon season (June to September) with cumulative rainfall rainfall estimated at 106 percent of the long-period average (87 cm), he said.
The BMC declared a holiday for all government and private schools and colleges in Mumbai on Thursday after the IMD issued a 'red' alert for the metropolis.
From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Nestle, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, and Tech Mahindra were the biggest gainers. In contrast, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards. Eternal dropped 4.51 per cent.
The heat wave is likely to impact parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, the Met office said.
Data since 2005 show that the five years with the highest rainfall saw average market returns of 8.98 per cent, while the five driest years returned 25.7 per cent on average.
Rainfall in August is predicted to be below normal (less than 94 per cent of LPA), but the situation is expected to improve comparatively in September, the IMD said.
A three-hour heavy downpour accompanied by a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR early morning on Friday, causing flight delays and traffic disruptions as seven people were killed in rain-related incidents across north India.
The rains could lead to a rise in the water levels of the Yamuna, which has been flowing above the danger mark of 205.33 metres for days now.
Dense fog blanketed parts of Delhi on Wednesday morning, reducing visibility and disrupting over 100 flights and 26 trains. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported minimum visibility of 200 metres in moderate fog at Safdarjung and 150 metres in dense fog at Palam. The IMD has issued an orange alert for Delhi, with dense to very dense fog reported in several areas. Cloudy skies are expected throughout the day, with light rain or drizzle likely in some areas.
While three persons died in Koraput district, two each died in Jajpur and Ganjam districts, and one each in Dhenkanal and Gajapati districts, they said.
In Rajasthan, Pilani recorded 44.9 degrees Celsius, Phalodi and Churu touched 43.8 degrees Celsius and 43.5 degrees Celsius respectively, while Bikaner and Jaipur registered 43.4 degrees Celsius and 43 degrees Celsius.
There was no report of any loss of properties or casualty so far, a senior official of the Odisha revenue department said, adding that the impact of the earthquake was "negligible" as its centre was in the Bay of Bengal.
The recent helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in which seven lives were lost, has proven yet again that aviation regulatory authorities have not learnt lessons from similar air mishaps in the challenging Kedar valley and have done little to improve flying conditions.
