The latest forecast, given by Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh, was a downward revision from a previous forecast of 93 per cent given at the outset of the monsoon in June, but was nowhere near as bad some farmers had feared.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who undertook an aerial survey of rain ravaged areas of Idukki and Wayanad, said Kerala was in the midst of an unprecedented flood havoc and the calamity has caused "immeasurable misery and devastation."
Over a million people have been evacuated and hundreds of flights were cancelled as typhoon Chan-Hom made landfall on Saturday in eastern China, bringing severe winds and heavy rainfall to Zhejiang and neighbouring provinces.
The production in Maharashtra is pegged higher at 11-11.5 million tonnes against 10.71 million tonnes
Reports said that in Telangana and Karnataka, excessive rains the past 10 days has threatened the standing green gram and maize crops and could negatively impact yields if the skies don't open up. But in the north-west and central parts of India, the resurgence of monsoon could not have come at a better time as oilseeds and pulses crops would otherwise had weathered if the rains didn't revive in August.
Rescue work has intensified in Texas with officials launching search operations as desperate residents remain stranded without food and water.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in which senior ministers including Revenue Minister Ashoka, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, medical experts and senior officials participated.
The storage of water in the six major reservoirs in the state was just 6.2 per cent of capacity as of April 27, 2017, reports T E Narasimhan and Gireesh Babu.
After a brief lull, intermittent rains lashed Chennai and its suburbs on Sunday, while the weatherman predicted more showers in Tamil Nadu over the next 48 hours.
Chennai resident Evelyn Ratnakumar writes how Chennai floods fail to dissolve the resilient urban spirit
Till June 30, the southwest monsoon was 33 per cent lower than normal, which is among the worst in the last five years, with 28 of the 36 meteorological divisions recording deficient rain.
The highest farmer suicides have been reported from Beed district
Rescuers on Monday fished out bodies of five Hyderabad-based engineering students, who were washed away in the swirling waters of Beas River along with 20 classmates whose fate is not known as Chief minister Virbhadra Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspension of Resident Engineer of Larji hydropower project.
Setting aside rivalries, ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front and opposition Left Democratic Front in Kerala stepped up the demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar as water flow into the reservoir in Idukki almost touched the maximum permissible storage level of 136 feet on Sunday due to heavy rain in the area.
Both the countries agreed to undertake the Treaty mandated tours of both the Indus Commissioners in the Indus basin on both sides, the ministry said in a statement in New Delhi.
Data provided by the satellites helps experts predict the level of rains till then, what to expect in the next few hours and even about the situation in the forests and the water reservoirs.
A photograph of Kumar snapped while scurrying across the bridge with the child two days ago, has gone viral on the social media with people showering praise on him.
Moderate to heavy showers will continue over Mumbai for next 48 hours.
DroughtThe Centre is expected to discuss issues related to drought management and also review the progress of major central schemes like soil health cards, irrigation programmes
In Gujarat, of the 12.5 million hectare of area under cultivation, while six million is dependent on rainfall, two million is covered by groundwater, a bulk of which is said to be in north Gujarat. Scanty rainfall in the last one and half years has not only depleted groundwater level but also affected dams.
100 square kilometre of Panna Tiger Reserve could go under water, writes Nitin Sethi.
While the IMD had forecast a 'normal' monsoon for the entire season, Skymet stated that rain this year would be 'below normal', report Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Sahil Makkar.
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
Two major hydel projects being built by construction majors GVK and L&T have suffered severe damages in the floods which hit Uttarakhand last week.
The winners of the Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London. American photographer Karine Aigner was announced as this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
The CM also said that the Parliament Secretariat had issued a circular to the MPs stating that they can allot Rs 1 crore worth renovation and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-affected districts from Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
Modi assured to extend all required assistance to the state to face the situation, the Chief Minister's office said.
The floods so far have claimed 21 lives, official sources said. Eleven people drowned in the floods, seven died in wall collapses and three deaths were caused by snake bites.
'Drought in the 1990s was essentially the drought of a poor India.' 'This 2016 drought is of a richer and more water-guzzling India.' 'The severity and intensity of the drought is not about lack of rainfall.' 'It is about the lack of planning and foresight, and criminal neglect.'
Thousands of emergency rescue teams officials remained on their toes, helping people affected by the deluge. Weather official said parts of state are expected to receive rainfall again.
In many parts of central and north India, monsoon reaches only in July.
Agriculture activity, according to recent channel checks by Prabhudas Lilladher, is expected to continue at a strong pace in FY22.
Jayalalithaa, recuperating at a corporate hospital in Chennai, said she could not attend the meeting as she was hospitalised.
Given the intensity of the rain, at least a third of this crisis could have been averted, had Tamil Nadu heeded Kerala's requests.
Karnataka government on Saturday moved the Supreme court seeking a review of its order directing the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu even as it faced strident calls from opposition parties not to release the water "at any cost".
The major cause of the floods in Mumbai in 2005 and in Chennai in 2015 has been the reclamation of reservoir areas and rapid, unplanned, urbanisation.
'Coordination between our 50 teams, each with a strength of 45 men, played a key role in rescuing flood-affected people in Chennai. In all, we succeeded in rescuing over 20,000 people.'
The state government has declared a holiday on Wednesday and Thursday for all private institutions, offices, non-essential services within Outer Ring Road here in view of rains.
"The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo-Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream," Chinese foreign ministry said to a question on concerns over the dam.
