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.
Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Kerala on Thursday, leading to waterlogging in the low-lying areas of major cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Thrissur.
The IMD issued a "Nowcast" warning, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places in Mumbai in the next three to four hours.
India is likely to see above-normal rainfall in the four-month monsoon season (June to September) with cumulative rainfall rainfall estimated at 106 percent of the long-period average (87 cm), he said.
Spurred by cyclone Remal, the southwest monsoon set in over the Kerala coast and parts of the northeast on Thursday, a day earlier than forecast by the weather office.
As weather patterns grow more unpredictable due to climate crisis, India is taking a giant leap with "Mission Mausam" to improve weather understanding and forecasting through expanded observation networks, better modeling and advanced tools like AI and machine learning.
India recorded around 16 per cent more rainfall than normal in August, with rainfall over Northwest India recorded at 253.9 mm, the second highest in August since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
There was no report of any major water-logging anywhere in the city so far.
To ensure immediate cooling of the body, the hospital has set up a first-of-its-kind heatstroke unit.
Moody's Investors Service on Friday raised India's growth projection for 2023 calendar year to 6.7 per cent on account of robust economic momentum. "Strong services expansion and capital expenditures propelled India's 7.8 per cent real GDP growth in the second (April-June) quarter from a year ago. "We have accordingly raised our 2023 calendar year growth forecast for India from 5.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent," Moody's said in its Global Macro Outlook. - el nino
Delhi saw seven cold wave days in January 2020, while it did not record any such day last year.
Delayed by 10 days due to cyclone Biparjoy, southwest monsoon is likely to progress further and hit Mumbai between June 23 and 25, the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
A cold wave has intensified in most parts of north India, with temperatures in the Kashmir Valley dipping below freezing point. The national capital saw a brief respite from the bitter cold during the day, but cold conditions persisted in parts of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The weather department has issued a yellow warning for cold wave, ground frost and dense fog for some places in Himachal Pradesh. There is a possibility of rain and snowfall in parts of northwest India later in the week.
The India meteorological department on Monday issued an 'orange alert' for Mumbai and Thane signalling very heavy rainfall till June 21.
Incessant rains with intermittent spells of moderate to heavy showers since Friday morning have slowed down public transport services and traffic in Mumbai.
The rains after arriving over Kerala will quickly cover Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but then might slacken a bit, which could delay its arrival over Northwest India.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
States are mandated to develop and implement 'heat HAPs' for prevention of heat-induced diseases. But most do not go beyond standard advisory on heat prevention.
Sri Lanka meteorological department predicts better weather in coming days
Satellite imagery showed a dense elongated band of fog stretching from Punjab to the northeast.
India experienced its second-hottest quarter from June to August this year since 1970, with over one-third of the country's population enduring at least seven days of dangerous heat, according to a new report by a United States-based group of climate scientists and communicators.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are very likely to continue in northwest India over the next three days and abate thereafter.
India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
It expects rainfall to be about 106 per cent of the long period average, aided by La Nia conditions anticipated to play a role in the second half of the monsoon season.
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.
The maximum temperature on Saturday settled at 18.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, and the minimum was recorded at 3.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, the IMD said.
The airport had temporarily suspended operations on Saturday due to strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by cyclones.
The monsoon onset over Kerala marks the commencement of the four-month rainfall season in the country.
The India meteorological department predicted mainly clear skies with heatwave conditions in many parts of Delhi and severe heat wave conditions in other areas.
Amid low growth elsewhere, gross value added (GVA) growth in agriculture and allied activities recovered during the second quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) to 3.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to strong monsoon. Experts feel that the rains have laid the foundation of an even better GVA performance in subsequent quarters. GVA growth in the first quarter of FY25 was 2.0 per cent.
Rijiju, who was removed as law minister on Thursday, refused to answer questions about his previous ministry contending that they were no longer relevant and that he looked forward to serve in the Earth Sciences Ministry.
Cyclonic storm Fengal has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may approximately take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. The process of the cyclone's landfall commenced at about 5.30 pm on November 30. The IMD said the forward sector of spiral bands associated with the cyclone has entered into the land and is likely to move west-southwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph during next 3 to 4 hours.
In a notice, IMD said, 'VSCS BIPARJOY over east-central Arabian Sea, lay centred at 0530hrs IST of 08th June, near lat 13.9N & long 66.0E, about 860km west-southwest of Goa, 910km southwest of Mumbai, would intensify further & move north-northwestwards.'
Delhi's primary weather station, the Safdarjung Observatory, registered a maximum temperature of 40.4 degrees Celsius, four notches higher than normal.
At least 10 flights scheduled to land at the Delhi airport were diverted -- eight to Jaipur and two to Lucknow -- due to inclement weather conditions. Airlines also warned of the possibility of more flight disruptions.
The weather department also said the national capital recorded only two rainy days this May, the lowest in 10 years.
Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said the monsoon covered south and central Arabian Sea, entire Kerala, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu between May 31 and June 7.
A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy' near the Jakhau port in Kutch district, officials said on Wednesday.
The very severe cyclonic storm was located over the east-central Arabian Sea located 840-kilometer west-southwest of Goa and 870 km west-southwest of Mumbai at 11.30 pm on June 8, the IMD said.
The IMD has predicted moderate showers in Mumbai on Tuesday and high intensity rains in neighbouring Raigad.
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