Massive preparedness, speedy evacuation plans and almost accurate prediction of cyclone time and path have saved the country from a natural disaster which could have taken thousands of live.
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.
With heavy rain since Sunday and more being forecast for Tuesday, a cloud of uncertainty looms over the Indian Premier League's first qualifier between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, at the Eden Gardens. Both teams had to skip Monday's practice as the ground remained under cover.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.
Here's a map showing the monsoon situation across the country.
The above map shows the amount of rainfall received by each district from June 1 to July 24, 2019.
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast a below-normal monsoon this year because of the El-Nino effect.
India recorded around 16 per cent more rainfall than normal in August, with rainfall over Northwest India recorded at 253.9 mm, the second highest in August since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
Because the ecology of various regions differs, it is silly to club them all under one countrywide average number, says Nitin Sethi.
"This year, the Southwest Monsoon is likely to set over Kerala on May 31 with a model error of four days," the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
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.
The tremor measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale was recorded at 0106 IST. The epicentre was at 6.2 degrees North Latitude and 92.2 degrees East Longitude.
The monsoon has finally brought back smiles to the faces of people, especially farmers, of India.
Temperatures in 17 locations breached 48 degrees Celsius on Monday, with the relentless heat affecting health and livelihoods across large parts of northwestern and central India.
On May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
Very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places in Kerala on Wednesday.
The south-west monsoon, crucial for the country's agriculture-based economy, is likely to hit the Kerala coast by June 2, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Thursday.
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).
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
North India was shaken by an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude on Richter Scale this evening but there was no immediate report of any loss of life or property. The quake occurred at 5:02 pm, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
There are conflicting reports about the magnitude of the earthquake that shook Delhi and its adjoining areas. While the Indian Meteorological Department measured the quake at a scale of 4.9, the United States Geological Survey put the magnitude at 5.2 on the Richter scale.
Threat of any further destruction by Laila in coastal Andhra Pradesh dissipated on Friday as the cyclonic storm gradually weakened into severe depression and then into depression over coastal Andhra Pradesh. According to the latest press release of Indian Meteorological Department, it lay centered about 100 km west of Kakinada.
A great intensity earthquake of 7.6 magnitude on Richter scale struck off the Andaman and Nicobar islands today, Indian Meteorological Department said.
Poor rainfall in rain-dependent central and southern India in the next three weeks could affect agricultural GDP growth in the coming season, a report by broking firm Motilal Oswal has said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy visited some inundated areas in their respective territories.
Light to moderate rain in many areas with heavy rain at isolated places is likely to occur in West Bengal's coastal districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur.
An amount of Rs 12 crore has been earmarked for the project.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
Earlier on Tuesday, Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena said that cyclone Asani is likely to reach Kakinada on the Andhra coast on Wednesday morning.
The monsoon situation in the northern region of the country will improve over the next couple of days and August will receive above average rainfall, Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar has assured.Quoting the latest report from the Indian Meteorological Department, Pawar told reporters in Hyderabad on Saturday that the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar and Himachal Pradesh will receive 86 per cent rainfall during July.
Tourist centres have been closed in many districts, including Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram, and a night travel ban has been imposed in the hilly areas of Idukki district.
The Indian Meteorological Department said though Cyclone Laila has weakened, the danger is not over yet as there were signs of it re-emerging in northern Bay of Bengal over the weekend.
Cyclonic storm Laila finally struck the Andhra coast 50 km north of Bapatla town of Guntur district on Thursday afternoon.
"Conditions are favourable for dust storms over Delhi and nearby areas. We are expecting a fall in temperatures," Dr R D Singh of the Indian Meteorology Department said.
With the monsoon continuing its northward advance, the weather department is expecting its onset in Delhi within the next five days.
The Centre had issued the warnings across the Indian Ocean after a massive earthquake, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale, off the Indonesian coast.
Cheteshwar Pujara waged a lone battle with a fighting 65 even as his team India Green crashed out of the Challenger Series for NKP Salve Trophy after a 19-run defeat to Blue in Cuttack on Saturday night. In Sunday's summit showdown, Blue will take on Red, unless the weather plays spoilsport.
The four major earthquakes in the past one year, including the one that triggered the tsunami, were due to the seismic activity in the same plate boundary.
Rain in the June-September season will be 87 per cent of the long-period average, compared with 93 per cent forecast in June, Ajit Tyagi, director general at India Meteorological Department said. Rainfall could be 4 per cent more or less than the estimate, he said.
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