The red alert was issued for the second consecutive day. Rains have been lashing Mumbai and adjoining districts since Tuesday night.
The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala on May 31, a day earlier than its normal onset date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Weather scientists attribute the early onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.
The IMD had initially predicted that Cyclone Nivar was likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' but has now estimated that it will intensify further.
The country saw 645 events of heavy rainfall and 168 events of very heavy rainfall in November, the highest in the month in five years, the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
The southwest monsoon is set to make its exit in style, bringing rains to the parched parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as weather forecasters have picked up signs of formation of a cyclonic circulation over Bay of Bengal. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on Thursday junked last week's forecast of early withdrawal of southwest monsoon and announced the extended stay of the seasonal showers. "Even though we expected early withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, a cyclonic circulation over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal will shift the monsoon trough southwards around September 7.
According to an IMD forecast issued on Thursday, a heatwave spell will persist over northwest and central India during the next five days and over east India during the next three days.
The IMD had said the Southwest Monsoon would hit parts of north India including Delhi on July 10, but it had not occurred till Sunday evening.
'There was a slight change of direction towards north-eastwards which meant the impact of the cyclone on Mumbai was less severe than originally expected,' the IMD said in a statement.
In another forecast for August, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said monsoon is also likely to be normal in the month.
Intense heat swept through east India and parts of the southern peninsular region on Thursday, testing power grids and prompting the Kerala government to order closure of educational institutions till May 6.
At least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport were diverted -- eight to Jaipur and two to Lucknow -- due to inclement weather conditions. Airlines also warned of the possibility of more flight disruptions.
The IMD, in its onset date forecast on May 15, had said the monsoon is likely to hit the southern state on June 5, four days after its normal arrival.
Six weather stations across Delhi recorded over 100 mm of rain in a single day, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Thursday, categorising it as an "extremely intense spell".
The mean minimum temperature for November was 9.6 degree Celsius in 1938; nine degree Celsius in 1931 and 8.9 degree Celsius in 1930, according to IMD data. Normally, the mean minimum temperature for the month of November is 12.9 degree Celsius.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
The India meteorological department (IMD) on Wednesday evening issued a red alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts, predicting "extremely heavy rainfall".
On May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
Mumbai and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy showers on Tuesday, causing water-logging at a number of places, including railway tracks, which slowed the movement of trains and vehicles on roads.
A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm, named Remal, on Saturday evening and is likely to turn severe before making landfall between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
There was no report of any major water-logging anywhere in the city so far.
The depression will intensify into a deep depression --- the third and fourth stage of any cyclone formation --- by this evening. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by June 2, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
Twelve out of the 15 warmest years since 1901 were during the past 15 years -- between 2006 and 2020, according to IMD data.
Villpuram district in north Tamil Nadu continued to reel under unprecedented flooding on Monday following extremely heavy rainfall, virtually blocking access to villages and residential colonies as bridges and roads overflowed, inundating huge acreage of standing crops and leaving passengers stranded as rail and road traffic was hit.
Heavy rain continued to lash Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, bringing residential neighborhoods and roads under knee-deep water and leading to traffic congestion besides affecting public transport services.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, causing flooding on roads and rail tracks and disrupting suburban train services as the south-west monsoon arrived in the city with a bang, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert for more downpour.
Lakhs of voters will have to bear the searing heat when they step out to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Kerala on Thursday, leading to waterlogging in the low-lying areas of major cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Thrissur.
India is likely to witness normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season this year, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. Rainfall will be 96 per cent to 104 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) of 87 cm of the 1971-2020 period, it noted. Earlier, the IMD used to consider the LPA of 88cm of the 1961-2010 period.
The city went under cloud cover and witnessed incessant rainfall from afternoon, with parts of the city witnessing heavy rains and thunderstorms, civic officials said.
It is in more than a decade that the IMD has predicted 'above-normal' rains in the country.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
India recorded 125 extremely heavy rainfall events during September and October of 2021, the highest in five years, owing to late withdrawal of the southwest monsoon and higher-than-normal low-pressure systems, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
He said scientists have noticed a trend of very deep cloud systems developing over the southeast Arabian Sea, and added that sometimes, these systems intrude into the land, like in 2019.
Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
Even as Mumbaikars got some respite from the downpour on Friday morning, the India meteorological department has issued a red alert for the city and its suburbs warning that very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places during the day, the civic officials said.
As heavy rains batter several parts of west and south India, the meteorological department on Friday said isolated extremely heavy falls are very likely over Konkan, Goa and central Maharashtra in the next two days.
Delhi's air quality deteriorated significantly on Monday, with areas like Dwarka, Mundka and Najafgarh recording an AQI of 500, the worst this season. The city's overall AQI reached 491, triggering the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-IV restrictions in Delhi-NCR. Doctors warned of health risks, urging people to wear N95 masks and avoid outdoor activities. The Supreme Court questioned the Delhi government on its anti-pollution measures and warned against scaling down preventive measures without its permission. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi accused the BJP-led central government of political maneuvering while neglecting stubble burning in states it governs. Meanwhile, the city enforced stricter pollution control measures, including a ban on truck entry and suspension of construction activities. Air purifier sales surged, reflecting the public's concern over the severe air pollution.
Data released by the IMD on Thursday showed that the mean minimum temperature (MMT) this December was 7.1 degrees Celsius.
Incessant rain with intermittent heavy spells led to waterlogging on some roads and railway tracks, slowing down the public transport services.
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