A severe cold wave has gripped North India, with temperatures plummeting to near-freezing levels in several areas. The cold wave has disrupted daily life, with dense fog affecting visibility and forcing people to stay indoors.
The national capital was in the grip of a cold wave, with the sun largely obscured by clouds and pollutants lingering in the atmosphere, leading to reduced visibility. At least 129 flights were cancelled at the Delhi airport on Saturday due to dense fog, according to an official.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports that ash clouds from volcanic activity in Ethiopia, which impacted flight operations in India, are drifting towards China and will move away from India by 7.30 pm on Tuesday.
Cyclone Ditwah is moving towards the Tamil Nadu coast, bringing the threat of heavy rainfall. The state government is reviewing preparedness measures, and a red alert has been issued for southern and delta districts.
Delhi's air quality deteriorates to 'very poor' levels, sparking a blame game between AAP and BJP over the causes and responsibility for the pollution.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued high sea waves, up to 4.7 metres high, warning across several coastal districts.
Cyclone Ditwah exits Sri Lanka after causing widespread destruction and over 120 deaths, heading towards the Indian coast. Heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue.
'Threat assessment, intelligence analysis, (battlefield) situation review -- what has transpired in the last three hours -- was conducted with the help of AI.'
Heavy rains lashed Delhi, leading to a red alert, traffic snarls, and waterlogging. The IMD predicts continued rainfall.
At least 23 people, including children, were killed as relentless rain triggered one of the worst landslides in a decade in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas on Sunday, sweeping away homes, cutting off roads, isolating villages, and leaving hundreds of stranded tourists amid widespread devastation, officials said.
About 57 per cent of Indian districts, home to 76 per cent of the country's population, are currently at high to very high risk from extreme heat.
Flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, resulted in casualties and widespread damage, prompting rescue operations and relief efforts.
IMD data shows in the 24 hours between September 1 and 2, Haryana received 806 per cent more rainfall than normal, Punjab 759 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 510 per cent, Delhi 740 per cent, Chandigarh a staggering 1,638 per cent, and Rajasthan 193 per cent.
Seven people died after a wall collapsed near Mohan Baba Mandir in Jaitpur, Delhi, following heavy rainfall. Rescue operations were conducted by police, fire services, and NDRF teams. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collapse.
Experts question whether a cloudburst caused the recent flash flood in Uttarkashi, India, citing insufficient rainfall and other potential factors like ice chunks, rockfalls, or landslides.
Lightning claims more lives in India annually than any other extreme weather event. Between April and July this year alone, 1,621 people died due to lightning strikes.
A landslide triggered by continuous rainfall has disrupted traffic on National Highway 75 near Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, halting vehicular movement between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. Authorities are working to clear the debris and restore traffic flow.
A cloudburst in the high altitude villages of Dharali in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand led to flash floods, causing damage to houses and sweeping away structures. Several people are feared buried under debris.
The meteorological centre in Shimla issued a 'red' alert on Sunday for very heavy downpour in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh, while services on the Shimla-Kalka rail line were suspended for hours till the debris and trees fallen on the tracks following overnight rains were removed.
Landslides blocked arterial roads leading up to Dharali where dozens of people were trapped and many homes and cars swept away by the raging waters on Tuesday. Eleven Army personnel from the nearby camp in Harsil were among those missing.
Seven rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level, even as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state.
In Professor Sulochana Gadgil's passing, India has lost a scientific giant, a fierce intellect, and a compassionate soul, remembers Dr Madhavan Nair Rajeevan.
It was a dream opening day for the local fans as seven British players made it to the second round -- the most singles wins for the home nation in a single day at Wimbledon in the professional era.
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.
Bhavnagar was also one of the worst affected districts, they said, adding that more downpour is likely over the next four day in parts of the state.
'Nobody asked us to work on this. It was on our own that we decided to embark on this journey.'
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
From a few rain gauges in 1875 to rivalling the world's best weather agencies, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has weathered its way to becoming a global leader in forecasting.
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 threshold for a heat wave is met when the maximum temperature of a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas, and 30 degrees in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 notches.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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