Strong demand for cultural and spiritual hubs is expected for destinations like Varanasi, Kolkata during Durga Puja, and Pushkar for the camel fair, besides leisure destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur and Coorg.
The mean maximum temperature for the month of March was 28.2 degrees Celsius in 2020 and 2019. It was 32.8 degrees Celsius in 2018; 30.7 degrees Celsius in 2017 and 31.5 degrees Celsius in 2016, according to the India Meteorological Department data.
An earthquake of moderate intensity, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, jolted India-Bangladesh border in Karimganj on Saturday.
Incessant heavy rain lashed Mumbai, prompting the meteorological department to upgrade the 'orange' alert to 'red' with effect from Wednesday night till Thursday afternoon, officials said.
As the southwest monsoon moves slowly across the southern peninsula, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest report said the overall rainfall during the second week of the four-month season was almost 50 per cent less than normal.
Palghar, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri could witness thunderstorm activity, lightning, moderate rain and gusty storm over the next two days.
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.
The necessary instrumentation will be installed by DOD within two years. The government has already sanctioned Rs 1,250 mn for the purpose.
The weather department also said the national capital recorded only two rainy days this May, the lowest in 10 years.
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.
La Nina, a weather pattern arising in the Pacific Ocean that causes heavy rain in South Asia, is assuming a neutral condition, senior India Meteorological Department officials have said. This suggests the country will have a near-normal southwest monsoon.
The airport had temporarily suspended operations on Saturday due to strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by cyclones.
India has roped in almost all the world's major weather forecasters in its effort to accurately forecast monsoon rains in the next four years.
The rains could lead to a rise in the water levels of the Yamuna, which has been flowing above the danger mark of 205.33 metres for days now.
The Met office had said Monday that significantly higher-than-normal temperatures may have an adverse impact on wheat and other crops.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness for the hot weather condition in the upcoming summer season and called for preparing separate awareness material for different stakeholders like common citizens, medical professionals, local body authorities and disaster response teams.
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.
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.
The health minister said the Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address heatwave-related illnesses.
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.
Cold-day conditions prevailed in parts of north India on Friday though the maximum temperatures rose slightly amid clear skies and sunshine during the day.
The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) regional centre for Mumbai has issued a 'yellow alert' for next three days, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places.
The system, which moved towards Bangladesh from north Bay of Bengal at a speed of 56 kmph caused moderate to heavy rain and squally weather in West Bengal's coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur, dampening festive spirits on Deepavali and Kali Puja.
Amid a cold wave prevailing in parts of northern India, Palam in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 6.5C while Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 5C, said India Meteorological Department on Monday.
The meteorological department in India has predicted that there will be normal monsoon rains next month that will result in better crops for the country's 234 million farmers.
Wind speed at the time is expected to be in the range of 125-135 kmph gusting up to 150 kmph.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in Odisha since April 15 and the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the MeT department.
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.
After remnants of cyclone Gulab that hit the eastern coast of the country brought torrential rains to central Maharashtra, a senior India Meteorological Department official said on Wednesday that we are witnessing a rare occurrence as the weather system might generate another cyclonic storm.
Ten to 20 days of heatwave are expected against the normal of four to eight days in the entire April-June period.
A depression over the southeast Arabian Sea, south of Porbandar in Gujarat, is likely to move northwestward and intensify into a cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
The Met department blamed the malfunctioning of sensors kept at the Automated Weather Station for the gaffe.
Temperatures in 17 locations breached 45 degrees Celsius on Monday, with the punishing heat affecting health and livelihoods.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 14.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The IMD said that rainfall over India in August and September would be around 106 percent of the long-period average of 422.8 mm.
Heatwave conditions are expected over northwest India during the next five days, with Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi predicted to bear the maximum impact, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.
He said scientists have noticed a trend of very deep cloud systems developing over the southeast Arabian Sea, and added that sometimes, these systems intrude into the land, like in 2019.
