The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that conditions are becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over parts of the south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands towards the end of this week.
In a significant move, state-run oil producer Oil India Limited (OIL) has finished drilling its first well in the Andaman sea while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has just started drilling operations in the area, said officials.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted an early onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala, expected around May 26. This marks the beginning of the crucial rainy season for India.
'This system will be of immense help in agricultural planning, disaster management and water resources management.'
Oil India has discovered natural gas reserves off the Andaman Islands, the state-owned firm said without putting an estimate of the size of the find. In a statement, OIL said "occurrence of natural gas" was reported in the second exploratory well Vijayapuram-2 drilled in the Offshore Andaman Block AN-OSHP-2018/1, which the company had won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
The south-west monsoon, the lifeline of many farmers of the country, has set in the south Andaman Sea and the south-east Bay of Bengal a good five days in advance. Weather forecasters have predicted widespread rains over Andaman and Nicobar islands during the next three to four days and further strengthening of westerly winds in the region. India's 235 million farmers rely on the timing of the June-September monsoon season to decide which crops to grow.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said all tourists at Havelock Island in the Andamans are safe and efforts are on for their early evacuation.
'This is the first case in which we saw use of Starlink by smugglers.'
As the Northeast monsoon intensified across Tamil Nadu, the regional weather office issued heavy rainfall alert to a number of districts. Chief Minister M K Stalin reviewed the situation and directed precautionary measures.
The Southwest Monsoon is set to arrive early with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected to receive first seasonal showers on May 15, the weather office said on Thursday.
At least 21 persons died on Sunday when the tourist boat carrying them capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, official sources said. The boat carrying 45 people -- tourists from Kanchi Puram district of Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, and crewmembers -- sank on its way from Ross Island to North Bay.
After the west coast, another cyclone is likely to hit the east coast by May 26-27, the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
Weather scientists attribute the early onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.
The much-awaited south-west monsoon on Monday brought first showers to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, setting the stage for its early progression towards Kerala.The onset of monsoon has now set the stage for the four-month rainfall season that has been eagerly awaited by the agricultural community who had to bear the brunt of a severe drought last year.The weather office said conditions were favourable for further advancement of the monsoon over more parts of Bay of Bengal
The low-pressure area over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a depression by Saturday, the weather office said.
Eyewitnesses to the boat tragedy also claimed that there was a blast before the capsize and that there was an hour's delay before the marine rescue team could reach the spot.
The weather system over the South Andaman Sea and the adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal is very likely to move north-westwards and strengthen into a depression by Saturday, the Met Department said.
The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala on May 31, a day earlier than its normal onset date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Besides heavy traffic congestion, the intermittent heavy rains led to inundation in several parts of the city and neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengelpet.
Monsoon will hit the Kerala coast on June 1, setting the stage for the four-month annual rainfall season crucial for India's agriculture-based economy. "The date of onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala is likely to be on June 1 with a model error of four days," the India Meteorological Department announced on Tuesday.
'The Andamans are strategic territory for India.' 'We need at least three full-length, 10,000-feet airfields here.'
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
A fresh spell of heatwave is likely to begin over northwest India from May 7 and over central India from May 8, the India meteorological department said on Thursday.
The IMD has issued a red-colour coded warning for the southern areas of Tamil Nadu Kerala in view of the brewing storm and said that these areas are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Moderate to rather heavy rains are likely at many places over all districts of coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Monday as a low pressure area would form over the Southwest Bay.
Southwest monsoon, critical for the farm-based economy of the country, is expected to reach Kerala on May 30, two days before its normal onset date in the coastal state.
A cyclonic circulation lies over the southeast Bay of Bengal and the adjoining south Andaman Sea extending up to middle tropospheric levels. Under its influence, a low pressure area is very likely to form over the southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 24 hours.
The Chinese have been objecting to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region where it has significantly expanded its presence since 2009 through artificial islands and military presence.
It said the weather system was expected to intensify into a deep depression by 5.30 am on Wednesday and turn into Cyclone Mocha in the next 12 hours, packing wind speeds of 80-90 kmph and gusting to 100 kmph.
Joining global efforts to locate the Malaysian plane, India has deployed four warships along with six aircraft, including the latest special surveillance P-8I plane and three helicopters, under the 'Operation Searchlight'.
'The food security along the coastal region will be severely affected.'
Odisha is bracing for heavy rainfall early next week under the impact of a possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to skirt the state and move towards West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
The system lay centered at 5.30 am over Southeast Bay of Bengal, about 450 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 380 km west of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 1030 km south-southeast of Puri (Odisha).
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were again jolted by three successive tremors on Saturday, just a day after three quakes shook the islands, official sources said.Deputy Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, S N Jha said, the latest tremor measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was felt at 6.26 pm today.Jha said the epicentre of the quake was located 132 km south-west of Port Blair, 35 km beneath the sea.
The weather system moved west-northwestward and concentrated into a depression on Saturday at 8.30am, close to west of Andaman Islands, the bulletin said.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the victims
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances