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.
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.
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.
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.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The India meteorological department said heatwave conditions will persist for at least two more days.
The IMD said that rainfall over India in August and September would be around 106 percent of the long-period average of 422.8 mm.
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.
June rainfall accounts for 15 percent of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the four-month monsoon season in the country.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 heatwave alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri on February 25 and 26, the IMD said.
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.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday termed as 'baseless', Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government did not heed the Centre's warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.
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.
IMD officials said the maximum temperature in the three districts could go up to 38 degrees Celsius.
Some India states are likely to record a significantly higher number of heatwave days, according to the national weather body.
India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours. An orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.
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.
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.
'Nobody asked us to work on this. It was on our own that we decided to embark on this journey.'
Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in Odisha since April 15 and the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the MeT department.
Incessant rains with intermittent spells of moderate to heavy showers since Friday morning have slowed down public transport services and traffic in Mumbai.
Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday expressed optimism about the Eden Gardens keeping its date with the 2025 IPL final
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.
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.
Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday. WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year.
At least 25 people were killed in lightning strikes and hailstorms in several districts of Bihar, India, on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department has issued an 'orange alert' for a number of districts, forecasting heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday. The state capital, Patna, recorded an average of 42.6 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm.
This would be the second cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea this year.
Overall automobile retail sales in India grew a modest 2.95 per cent in April this year to 22,87,952 units with completion of purchases by customers around Chaitra Navratri, Akshay Tritiya, Bengali New Year, Baisakhi and Vishu helping April end on a positive note, Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations said on Monday.
The rain and flood situation in northeastern states remained grim on Tuesday, with lakhs people affected in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, even as the meteorological department predicted more rain in several parts of the region.
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