A cold wave has gripped many parts of north and east India, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Other areas experiencing below-freezing temperatures include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Konibal, Qazigund, Kupwara, and Kokernag in Kashmir. Himachal Pradesh has issued an orange warning for severe cold wave conditions in several districts. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius, while Faridkot in Punjab was the coldest in the region at 0 degrees Celsius. Extreme cold conditions also continued in parts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather until December 26, with the possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir on the intervening night of December 21-22.
The annual mean temperature in 2024 was 25.75 degrees Celsius, 0.65 degrees above the long-period average.
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a forecast predicting significant precipitation in the city throughout the week, casting a shadow over the series opener.
Delhiites continued to breathe toxic air on Tuesday as the air quality edged closer to the severe zone in some areas.
However, there was no report of any major damage or casualty so far even as the landfall process started more than an hour ago, the official said.
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.
All soccer matches scheduled to be played in the Valencian region this weekend have been postponed, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) said on Thursday due to the deadly floods which have killed at least 95 people.
This deterioration in air quality led to prompting enforcement of Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the national capital.
Air quality index (AQI) soared past 350 level in parts of Delhi on Thursday and experts cautioned that as weather turns colder it may breach the 400-mark ceiling and enter the 'severe' zone soon, notwithstanding the incidents of stubble burnings which have nosedived from 17,529 in 2020 to 4,262 this year.
As weather patterns grow more unpredictable due to climate crisis, India is taking a giant leap with "Mission Mausam" to improve weather understanding and forecasting through expanded observation networks, better modeling and advanced tools like AI and machine learning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said a country can aim for high achievements only if it has a big vision and asserted that technology upgradation should be to empower the poor. Speaking after launching via video link three PARAM Rudra supercomputers, developed indigenously under National Supercomputing Mission, Modi asserted that today's India is carving new opportunities in the infinite sky of possibilities. Modi said his government has taken steps to ensure research in technology benefits the common man.
'We have not even used 0.1% of the available resources.'
Residents of North India battle freezing conditions.
'We are stuck in a very bad situation. Thank you so much #NDRF for rescuing us,' Radha captioned the post, expressing her gratitude for the timely assistance.
Intermittent, widespread rains lashed Chennai and other regions of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday and the India meteorological department said the low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has turned into a well-marked low pressure area and it is likely to become a depression.
The cold wave days in December too are expected to be 'below-normal' this year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a warning of significant rainfall in Kerala due to cyclone Fengal, currently positioned as a strong low-pressure area over northern Tamil Nadu.
The airport had temporarily suspended operations on Saturday due to strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by cyclones.
Amid low growth elsewhere, gross value added (GVA) growth in agriculture and allied activities recovered during the second quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) to 3.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to strong monsoon. Experts feel that the rains have laid the foundation of an even better GVA performance in subsequent quarters. GVA growth in the first quarter of FY25 was 2.0 per cent.
More than 150 express/passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway jurisdiction have been cancelled in view of the severe cyclonic storm, an SER official said.
In view of the discharge of water from the Khadakwasla, Mulshi, Pavana and other dams in the Pune region, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed authorities to be alert and shift people from dangerous zones to safer places.
At least 28 people died in rain-related incidents Sunday as heavy downpours lashed north and northwest India, causing landslides, traffic chaos and house collapses, as well as a dam breach which inundated several villages in Haryana.
Delhi's air quality plummeted to alarming levels on Tuesday after 24 days, with many areas witnessing a significant spike in pollution despite the strictest measures, including a ban on construction activities and the entry of trucks into the city, coming into force.
A cold wave has intensified in most parts of north India, with temperatures in the Kashmir Valley dipping below freezing point. The national capital saw a brief respite from the bitter cold during the day, but cold conditions persisted in parts of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The weather department has issued a yellow warning for cold wave, ground frost and dense fog for some places in Himachal Pradesh. There is a possibility of rain and snowfall in parts of northwest India later in the week.
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.
Delhi's air quality improved for the second consecutive day on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded in the "moderate" category at 165. This marks a significant improvement from the "poor" category recorded on Tuesday. Several restrictions imposed under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) were lifted, but some restrictions under Stage 2 remain in place. The Decision Support System (DSS) has not been updated since Friday, with technical difficulties hindering the update of data for the last six days.
Himachal Pradesh experienced its second snowfall of the season, leading to the closure of 15 roads, including two national highways. A tourist from New Delhi died in an accident on an icy road in the Lahaul Spiti district, while three others sustained injuries.
Incessant rain with intermittent heavy spells led to waterlogging on some roads and railway tracks, slowing down the public transport services.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced the increase of the UPI Lite wallet limit to Rs 5,000 and per-transaction limit to Rs 1,000, in order to encourage wider adoption of the popular instant payment system through mobile phones. A limit of Rs 500 per transaction and an overall limit of Rs 2,000 per UPI Lite wallet, is presently applicable, with the facility of auto-replenishment. Unveiling the October bi-monthly monetary policy, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das also said the per-transaction limit in UPI123Pay will be enhanced to Rs 10,000 from the current Rs 5,000.
Widespread rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday, prompting authorities to declare a holiday for schools in Chennai and many other districts.
Yagi, the 11th typhoon of this year, made two landfalls in China on Friday, first striking Hainan and later Guangdong province.
ISRO chairman S Somanath said the success gave the space agency "greater confidence," as the GSLV will be next deployed in the NISAR mission, a collaborative effort with the US' NASA.
A civic volunteer, identified as Chandan Das (31), died on the spot when he allegedly touched a live wire in Bud Bud in Purba Bardhaman district. The incident happened when he was out with a police team, they said.
Keeping in mind the forecast for rain and overcast conditions, Pakistan team management is likely to field a pace-heavy bowling unit against Bangladesh in the first Test scheduled between August 21 and 25 at Rawalpindi.
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.
The weather office has issued a forecast of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in several districts of Gujarat over the next one week.
An official statement said Modi chaired a meeting where he was briefed about the likelihood of above-normal maximum temperatures over most parts of the country during April-June, with high probability of such conditions in central western peninsular India.
The minimum temperature in Delhi was recorded at 28.6 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
At least five people were killed in separate rain-related incidents on Tuesday in Bengaluru, which has been reeling under incessant rains for the past three days causing widespread flooding in several residential areas and turning roads into virtual rivers.
Amid the heavy downpour in Bengaluru, residents of many flood-affected areas have taken to social media to pour out their woes ranging from waterlogging to complaining about "crumbling" infrastructure.
