This may rescue pulses, cotton and oilseed sowing; rain revival in the south to take longer
The overall AQI deteriorated further and touched the 268 mark, which falls in the poor category.
The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (469), Greater Noida (464), Ghaziabad (470), Gurgaon (472) also recorded 'severe' air pollution levels.
The denizens of Kashmir division experienced bone chilling cold as the night temperature in most places including summer capital Srinagar slipped below the freezing point, compounding the problems of those affected by the recent floods.
Pollution levels in Delhi during the Diwali period are likely to remain in the higher end of the 'very poor' category in the absence of emissions due to fireworks, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR said.
Meanwhile, water will be released from Chembarambakkam lake, one of the key drinking water sources to Chennai, since it was nearing capacity, the government said.
Inclement weather badly hampered cremation of bodies and removal of debris at Kedarnath on Friday besides affecting distribution of relief in over 200 segregated villages where people have lost their homes and are faced with acute foodgrain shortage.
In Uttar Pradesh, the death toll due to lightning strikes rose to 42.
The picturesque landscape of Pettimudi was flattened into a rough patch of boulders and mud with parts of asbestos and tin sheets seen scattered around.
Two persons were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district as strong winds and thunder showers hit several parts of the state. While one died in a tree fall incident the other was hit by lightning, the police said.
The UNICEF said an estimated 2.4 million children have been affected by the recent floods in the country.
At least 11 people lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh as monsoon rains lashed most parts of north India, with several rivers in the region flowing above the danger mark.
For the fourth consecutive day, Monday, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for traffic in the wake of landslides at some places, even as higher reaches in Kashmir received fresh snowfall overnight.
A 13.2 MW small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
The rupee had lost 31 paise to close at one-month low of 61.07 on Wednesday on sustained dollar demand from banks and importers.
The intense cold wave conditions accompanied by snowfall have left 24 people dead in Uttarakhand.
For potato farmers in the north and wheat growers in the eastern parts -- particularly in Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha -- the recent rains could in fact be beneficial.
As cyclone Hudhud weakened and moved to Chhattisgarh, Odisha government on Monday braced for relief and rehabilitation in the affected southern districts where its damaged houses and uprooted trees even as heavy rainfall was expected to lash these areas.
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday had predicted heavy rainfall for the next two days due to what it called cyclonic circulation around the maximum city.
Timely onset of south-west monsoon is crucial for kharif (summer) crops.
Heavy rains lashed south and east central Gujarat causing flood like situation in localities alongside rivers flowing through Valsad, Navsari and Surat districts and killing at least five persons at two places, officials said on Tuesday.
Rain deficiency in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya is 20-46 per cent less than normal as of June 17.
Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains, while incessant downpour badly hit road and rail traffic in several parts of the state, including around Mumbai, as authorities called in NDRF to help the administration in rescue efforts.
El Nino is expected to occur in August-September, but it is unlikely to have any major impact on the monsoon, and the weatherman expects a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, which has a strong influence on rainfall in the country.
There will be a blanket ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers in the national capital, including on Diwali, till January 1, 2023, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
A cyclonic circulation over Haryana was the trigger for the deadly dust storm that swept parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, weather experts said.
Tropical storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te) which had intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm, lies close to the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department said. "The landfall process has started and will continue during next two hours," the IMD said.
In another forecast for August, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said monsoon is also likely to be normal in the month.
With mercury level soaring, Kerala is likely to face drought-like situation amid fears of drinking water scarcity and power crisis in the poll-bound state as water bodies are fast drying up.
The Army, the National Disaster Response Force, police and the fire force along with the locals began rescue operations on Sunday morning at Koottickal and Kokkayar panchayats where over a dozen people are listed to be missing due to numerous landslides accompanied by heavy downpour since Saturday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official asserted that it is known that China used these balloons for surveillance.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, causing flooding on roads and rail tracks and disrupting suburban train services as the south-west monsoon arrived in the city with a bang, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert for more downpour.
Parts of south, east and northeast India are expected to get some relief from the blistering heat, with the onset of monsoon expected to take place over Kerala on Saturday.
Total area impacted across India pegged at 18.9 mn hectares.
Makers of air conditioners, beverage and ice-cream are hopeful of a boost in sales
Flight operations at the Mumbai airport were suspended for nearly half an hour as visibility dropped well below the required 550 meter-mark
The four, including two women, were seated in S-8 and S-9 coaches, which are non-AC, and other passengers claimed that they died due to excessive heat.
Monsoon is critical for the country's 263 million farmers and their rice, cane, corn, cotton and soybean crops because nearly half of its farmland lacks irrigation.
The Meteorological Department has forecast rains or snow over five days from Monday.
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