Odisha is bracing for heavy rainfall early next week under the impact of a possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to skirt the state and move towards West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
It looks unlikely that a proper plan was in place or else the deaths could have been averted, reports Jyoti Mukul.
According to the IMD, a rain event is categorised as a cloudburst if a weather station receives 100 mm of rain in one hour.
Forecast of normal monsoon and a good harvest will boost the purchasing power of gold among farmers in India, said a report from the leading Asian investment bank, HSBC.
Cyclonic storm Ashobaa is expected to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm and then move northwestwards during next 24 hours.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ashish Shelar said he was shocked to note the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell for cyclone Nisarga will start functioning on Tuesday while the windstorm is only some hours away from hitting the state's coast.
The 126.6 mm rainfall that the city received in the 12-hour period from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm on Monday exceeded the 114.5 mm it got on July 30, 2016, and July 21, 2015's meagre record of 61 mm.
Addressing a press conference virtually, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said September was likely to witness normal rainfall in the range of 91-109 per cent of the long period average of 167.9 mm.
'He will conduct aerial surveys and take part in review meetings, where aspects of relief and rehabilitation will be discussed,' the PMO said in a tweet on Thursday night. Cyclone Amphan has left 72 people dead and thousands homeless in West Bengal, battering several parts of the state and washing away bridges and swamping low-lying areas.
The IMD defines a normal monsoon as one which delivers between 96 and 104 per cent of the 50-year average rainfall for the season.
While the city received some showers late Wednesday night, it remained almost dry on Thursday.
As the air pollution in Delhi-NCR ameliorated over the last two days, the Centre's air quality panel Sunday directed authorities to lift the ban on plying of non-BS VI diesel light motor vehicles in the region and the entry of trucks into the capital imposed under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan.
In an emergency high-level meeting to review preparedness for cyclone Hudhud, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked officials to ensure that rescue and relief operations proceed smoothly and people are informed about the cyclone on a real-time basis.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
Monsoon normally hits Kerala on June 1 but this year, Met department had predicted that it will hit the state on June 5.
This is the fourth year of drought in Marathwada in the past five years. Each of its 8,522 villages have been affected for two consecutive years.
Rain-related incidents claimed nine more lives in Gujarat, taking the death toll to 16 in two days, while another 8,500 people were relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas with rains continuing to lash some parts of the state for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.
Close to half the country is experiencing deficient rains and the shortage for the figure has gone up to 16 per cent.
Northwest, central and east India are predicted to record maximum temperatures three to five degrees above normal over the next five days, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Thursday.
BMC officials will hold a meeting through video conferencing with representatives of India Meteorological Department, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Mekorot officials on Thursday to draw an action plan in this regard. The move comes at a time when Mumbaikars are suffering from water cuts due to deficient rainfall.
India suffered a $3 billion loss to its economy from severe rainfall and flooding in November and early December.
The maximum temperature is likely to hover above 40 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours in many parts of the state, an official said on Wednesday.
Bihar government has sounded alert in 28 flood-prone districts following a warning issued by Indian Meteorological Department in the wake of Cyclone Phailin that pounded Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
The onset of the southwest monsoon is being keenly watched this year as it may provide an early sign regarding its progress over the Indian subcontinent, particularly when El Nio is expected to rear its head during the latter half of the season.
Over 2 lakh people living in and around the vulnerable coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have been evacuated with Cyclone 'Hudhud' set to hit the two states no Sunday with winds gusting up to 195 kmph.
The maximum sustained wind speed is 55 knots gusting to 65 knots around system centre. Sea condition is rough to very rough, it stated.
vThe longest duration cyclone over the north Indian Ocean had developed over the Bay of Bengal and weakened over the Arabian Sea between November 8-23, 1977 with a life period of 14 days and six hours.
The Santacruz observatory recorded 286.4 mm rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, making it the fourth highest rainfall in Mumbai since 1974, an Indian Meteorological Department official said.
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 is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
After missing its deadline, the monsoon is likely to hit the national capital and parts of north India by the end of the week, a private forecasting agency said on Monday.
The name 'Laila' which means dark-haired beauty or night in Persian was suggested by Pakistan to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) which is tasked by the World Meteorological Organisation to track and name cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean, an IMD official said.
The CM has asked all the 51 district collectors to be alert and agile to deal with the flood situation and extend immediate help to the people in distress.
The weather office forecasts monsoon rains to be above average this year after the droughts ravaged crops and worsened rural distress
The same development would benefit the progress of the north-east monsoon, also known as the 'reverse monsoon'.
The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase with the likelihood of very heavy falls at a few places and extremely heavy falls at isolated places on May 15, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Army was helping them in relief operation, Pal said, adding that around 1,200 people affected by flood were staying in five camps, including four put up in the city, he said.
The flood situation in Bihar is showing signs of improvement after the swollen rivers started receding on Friday. For nearly a week major rivers like Ganga had wreaked havoc in the state.
A below-normal monsoon is likely to drag down the food output with India's agricultural GDP growth likely to slump to 0.8 pc in the current fiscal, says a report by the Japanese brokerage firm Nomura.
A cyclonic circulation lies over north coastal Tamil Nadu, southeast of Bay of Bengal and a low pressure area is likely to form by November 9, the Meteorological department said on Sunday and has forecast widespread rainfall for at least the next three days in the state.
