The state, which had been reeling under intense cold wave since a week, got some respite on Thursday as the minimum temperature rose to 4.4 degrees Celsius in capital city Patna while Gaya district recorded 3.4 degree Celsius.
Any long dry spell could cause moisture stress in the standing crop during the crucial maturing stage and also make it prone to pest and disease attacks.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), for the first time, officially hinted at a drought-like situation, saying the southwest monsoon over India in 2012 is likely to be deficient at below 90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).
Delhi's air quality deteriorated significantly on Monday, with areas like Dwarka, Mundka and Najafgarh recording an AQI of 500, the worst this season. The city's overall AQI reached 491, triggering the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-IV restrictions in Delhi-NCR. Doctors warned of health risks, urging people to wear N95 masks and avoid outdoor activities. The Supreme Court questioned the Delhi government on its anti-pollution measures and warned against scaling down preventive measures without its permission. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi accused the BJP-led central government of political maneuvering while neglecting stubble burning in states it governs. Meanwhile, the city enforced stricter pollution control measures, including a ban on truck entry and suspension of construction activities. Air purifier sales surged, reflecting the public's concern over the severe air pollution.
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by 5.35 per cent to Rs 2,300 per quintal for the 2024-25 kharif marketing season. The hike in paddy support price comes despite the government sitting on surplus rice stocks, but it is significant ahead of elections in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam till Thursday.
All sub-regions have been receiving good rainfall except the North-east and east region of the country, where the deficiency has reached 23 per cent.
The wholesale price index based inflation in June declined to 7.25 per cent from 7.55 per cent in the previous month.
As the southwest monsoon continues to narrow its overall deficit, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday exuded confidence that the dreaded El Nino weather pattern was unlikely to affect monsoon rains this year.
Operations at the Delhi airport remained normal. However, three flights were returned or diverted to the Delhi airport due to bad weather in Chandigarh, Varanasi and Lucknow on Tuesday night.
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.
El Nino, an anomalous rise in sea surface temperature off the Peru coast, has been observed to often cause the Indian monsoon to flounder, resulting in poor rainfall. Nearly 60 per cent of agricultural land is wholly rain-dependent.
'We have not even used 0.1% of the available resources.'
Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices cairman Ashok Gulati tells Business Standard that IMD's prediction should be taken with a pinch of salt, as data shows there is usually a deviation of eight-10 per cent from the standard margin of error in many met predictions.
State capital Lucknow shuddered at 0.7 degrees Celsius, while Bahraich recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius.
A powerful earthquake of 7.4 magnitude struck southwestern Pakistan in the small hours of the day, tremors of which were felt in parts of northwestern India, including the national capital.
Airfares on major domestic routes from Chennai surged as flight operations at the airport were disrupted due to strong winds and torrential rain that lashed the city in the wake of Cyclone Michaung on Monday. According to ixigo data, on December 5, one-way spot airfares from Chennai to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata rose between 52 per cent and 171 per cent compared to prices three to seven days prior. The Chennai-Mumbai route, the busiest flight route from Chennai airport, saw airfares surge 68.6 per cent from Rs 3,728 to Rs 6,286 in the aforementioned period.
According to the IMD, a rain event is categorised as a cloudburst if a weather station receives 100 mm of rain in one hour.
The India Meteorological Department attributed the westerly wind and moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea as the reason behind the spell.
The searing heat pushed the city's peak power demand to its highest for May, while the Delhi government directed the schools that have not closed for summer vacations to do so with immediate effect.
The Mumbai civic body and police have advised all people in the city and surrounding areas to stay indoors as much as possible.
Drought looms as large this year as it did in 2009, even as attempts to play down its impact surface.
Although the monsoon is not active, it is not sluggish either he said, adding that the eastern coast, central India and north east are getting fairly good rains. Even Maharashtra and parts of peninsula are having rain.
Streets in localities like Hindmata, Dadar, Sion, King's Circle and Wadala are waterlogged. Suburban trains were running slow when reports last came in.
The crucial south-west monsoon is expected to bring its first showers to Kerala on June 3, a slight delay that could be attributed to the cyclone activity over the Bay of Bengal. "Southwest monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on June 3," said Chief Monsoon Forecaster, India Meteorological Department D Sivananda Pai.
The maximum sustained wind speed is 55 knots gusting to 65 knots around system centre. Sea condition is rough to very rough, it stated.
The drought of 2009 still haunts the India Meteorological Department.
Several parts of north and west India reeled under scorching heat wave with the temperature touching 50 degree Celsius in Rajasthan's Churu district on Tuesday, even as the meteorological department predicted very heavy rainfall in Assam and Meghalaya till May 28.
Senior officials of the India Meteorological Department said they were now more confident that El Nino would indeed appear during the second half of the southwest season, compared to April when the last official forecast was made.
The Odisha government has asked all the district collectors to remain prepared for any eventuality, and directed the administration to evacuate people from low-lying areas in the event of heavy rain.
Flight services at Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday due to low visibility after heavy rains in the city, leading to runway operations being shut for over an hour and approximately 50 flights being cancelled, sources said.
Hundreds of people are being evacuated from coastal villages in Kutch district in view of cyclone Biparjoy, but authorities are facing a challenge as many villagers are reluctant to leave their livestock and belongings behind.
The India meteorological department (IMD) on Wednesday evening issued a red alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts, predicting "extremely heavy rainfall".
The quake, with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter Scale, hit south Andaman region at 01:21 hours, the India Meteorological Department said in New Delhi.
At present, the Met department is often unable to provide exact information on the exact amount of rain over a localised area.
The weather department has said that the skies are expected to be partly cloudy for the next few days in Delhi.
The weather system remained practically stationary during the last six hours and weakened to a depression, and is likely to turn into a well-marked low pressure area during the next 12 hours, it said in a bulletin.
The CII has suggested a 5-point agenda on the measures that need to be undertaken by central and state governments to stave off the adverse effects of a deficient monsoon. Let's find out what this agenda is. . .
Highly placed sources said that Singh was apprised of the agricultural situation across the country and officials expected that 95 per cent of sowing operations would be completed this month. The weather office expects monsoon to be near normal in July, which is crucial for the 235-million strong farming community.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
