Delhi recorded an air quality index of 315 at 11:10 am. The last time the air quality hit such a poor level was in February.
The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said a significant increase in the number of "fire points" was observed over Punjab (around 3,000), Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, which is likely to impact the air quality of Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India.
Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of -4.2C, slightly up from the previous night's -4.9C.
The air quality had turned 'severe' on Saturday evening with stubble burning accounting for 32 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution, but firecracker emissions and calm winds made the situation even worse.
For Tuesday, the IMD said heavy to very heavy rains, with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, are likely over Assam and Meghalaya.
The rains have so far been four per cent below normal.
'Southwest Monsoon has advanced into remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab and thus it has covered the entire country today, the 26th June 2020,' the IMD said in its special Daily Weather Report.
Light to heavy rains lashed several parts of north India intensifying cold wave conditions in the region following snowfall in higher reaches that brought down day temperature considerably in Delhi and neighbourhood.
Production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the capital will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act, the minister told a press conference in New Delhi.
The disaster management department said that the state government has urged the Indian Air Force to send a helicopter for air-dropping of food packets and other relief material in marooned areas.
Pakistan Meteorological Department's earthquake centre said the 5.8-magnitude earthquake was located near the mountainous city of Jehlum in Punjab province.
Surplus rain water gushed out of reservoirs while several roads here resembled swollen rivers and four persons were killed in rain related incidents in Tamil Nadu and over 60 houses suffered damage, authorities here said on Monday.
Taking a sceptical view of MUDRA program, Shiv Sena sought to know when the distressed farmers get help and how does the government plan to curb their suicides.
The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall over Karnataka and Kerala for the next few days.
However, some areas in south Mumbai, which witnessed a record rain on Wednesday, were still water-logged, they said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs and intense showers in some parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in next 24 hours.
Large swathes of the country reeled under heatwave conditions on Tuesday with Churu in Rajasthan recording a high of 48 degree Celsius.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced Rs 1,000 crore as interim relief for the cyclone-hit Andhra Pradesh as he undertook a survey of the worst-affected city.
Authorities alerted people to avoid staying outdoors and L-G ordered to halt all civil construction activities across the city till Sunday.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
The India Meteorological Department, which had issued a red colour-coded alert for north India for May 25-26 when the prevailing heatwave conditions are expected to peak, said dust and thunderstorms are likely to bring some relief on May 29-30.
The storm has claimed 27 lives in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The cyclone would bring light to moderate rains at most places and 'heavy to very heavy downpour' at some places on November 6.
Heavy rains triggered by a deep depression in the weather system claimed as many 38 lives in Gujarat on Wednesday.
Pahalgam and Gulmarg were the only recorded places in the Valley where the mercury was below the freezing point.
Poor rain threatens recovery in production this season, sugar prices at three-month high
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast 'extremely heavy rains' at a few places in Marathwada, Mumbai and other parts of the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra in the next 24 hours.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday conducted an aerial survey of rain-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand to asses the damage which the state government has pegged at Rs 7,000 crore.
Though the "eye of the storm" is away from land, the cyclone's outer periphery would leave its impact on the coast.
Landslides have occurred near Ramban and Battery Cheshma which have forced the closure of the highway.
The NDMA added that the National Capital Region, and Hisar, Kaithal, Jind, Kurukshetra, Karnal in Haryana is likely to be again hit by the unusual weather on Wednesday.
Cold wave conditions remained unabated as the night temperature across Kashmir continued to stay below the freezing point with forecasts for dry spell.
Cold wave conditions continued unabated in Kashmir Valley with minimum temperatures hovering below freezing point, causing severe problems to the residents.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, an increase of two degrees from the previous night's minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, a spokesman for the MET department said in Srinagar.
Parts of Raigad, Ratnagiri districts in the coastal Konkan region and Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, have been worst affected by the floods. Besides that, heavy rains have been pounding parts of Satara district.
South China regions including Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were affected by strong gales and heavy downpours on Sunday morning.
IMD will present its month-wise and region-wise forecast in June.
The minimum temperature across the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh Union Territory stayed several degrees below the freezing point, intensifying the cold wave in some areas in the region, an official of the Meteorological Department said. He said Srinagar city recorded the low of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius last night, down from minus 5.8 degree Celsius the previous night.
On December 7, 1990, Srinagar had recorded a low of minus 8.8 degrees Celsius.
The southwest monsoon over the country is likely to be normal in July, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday in its forecast for the month.
This may rescue pulses, cotton and oilseed sowing; rain revival in the south to take longer
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