West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
The India meteorological department predicted mainly clear skies with heatwave conditions in many parts of Delhi and severe heat wave conditions in other areas.
'Very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy at 2330 hrs IST of 9th June over east-central Arabian Sea near lat 16.0N & long 67.4E. Likely to intensify further & move north-northeastwards during the next 24hrs,' the IMD said in a tweet.
The IMD projects total rainfall in the June-September monsoon season as being 99 per cent of the long-period average.
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 IMD dispelled fears by forecasting a normal monsoon for June-September. Rainfall is expected to be 98 per cent of the long period average, significantly higher compared to last year's 77 per cent LPA.
The bounteous monsoon this year has already dumped 1159.4 mm of rainfall in Delhi till Thursday afternoon, the highest since 1964 and the third-highest ever, according to the IMD data
IMD will present its month-wise and region-wise forecast in June.
Anything between 96-104 per cent of the LPA is considered as normal rainfall while precipitation in the range of 104-110 per cent is termed 'above normal'
Gross Value Added (GVA) growth in agriculture and allied activities in the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year (Q1FY25) dipped to 2.7 per cent at constant prices from 4.2 per cent in Q1FY24 due to a drop in output of some crops following heatwave in the main growing months. Low post-monsoon rains, which dried most of the reservoirs in several states across the country, also impacted the production of many crops. At current prices, the growth was estimated at 8.5 per cent as against 4.1 per cent in Q1FY24 due to a spike in food inflation during the April to June months of FY25.
A Red alert, indicating heavy to very heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, has been sounded for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathnamthitta and Alappuzha districts on December 3, while Orange alert (6 cm to 20 cm rains)for Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts the same day.
Sowing had started on a sluggish note in several parts of the country because of delay in the onset of the monsoon but has picked up pace subsequently as the rains progressed and performed appreciably well in August.
Western Railway stated that local train services were running normally on Monday morning, however, commuters claimed trains were running late by 5 to 10 minutes.
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.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
Officials in the weather department said the monsoon is expected to be below normal because of the El-Nino effect.
While the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates for the remaining three seats.
Heavy rains had battered the metropolis on Sunday and Monday as well.
The heavy rains led to water level in various dams in the state rising to the red alert mark, prompting the government to open one of the shutters of Cheruthoni dam of Idukki reservoir in the afternoon.
The southwest monsoon which reached the country on May 30 well within its normal onset date
The news will augur well for the country as large parts have been witnessing agriculture distress and water levels in reservoirs in west and south India have dipped to low levels.
The administration is geared up for more showers as the India meteorological department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in several districts of the state till Thursday morning.
Hailstorms were reported at various parts of the national capital including Palam, Chilpighat and Ayanagar, the IMD said.
The met department said that rainfall in August is projected to be within the normal range at 97% of LPA. In August and September, India receives around 43 mm of rainfall.
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 weather office on Monday forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next three days over some parts of Uttarakhand, which is still recovering from a deluge last week that is feared to have taken over 1,000 lives.
Authorities were on their toes in Banaskantha and Patan districts and relocated thousands of people residing in low-lying areas to safer places, they said.
The Central Pollution Control Board on Monday reviewed the air quality in Delhi-NCR observing that the contribution of stubble burning may rise in the next five days with the AQI fluctuating between 'very poor' and 'severe' categories.
The IMD director said, the cyclonic storm Tauktae in the Arabian sea is moving away from the Kerala coast and is now approaching the Karnataka coast.
With different agencies showing divergent predictions regarding the southwest monsoon, the central government and states are gearing up to face adversity with various line ministries reportedly being directed to undertake mock drills and hold preparatory meetings. Around 56 per cent of the net cultivable area of the country is rain-fed, accounting for 44 per cent of foodgrain production. The June-September rains contribute around 73 per cent of the annual precipitation.
The situation in fact is not that worrying for Thursday and IMD regional director Ganesh Das said the rain is expected to be "light and moderate".
The India Meteorological Department said rainfall would be accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 140 to 150 kmph and gusting to 165 kmph along and off Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
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.
Millions of farmers plant rice, cane, corn, cotton and soybean crops in the rainy months of June and July. Harvesting starts from October
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 agriculture sector has witnessed feeble growth on account of drought for two successive years
'All El Ninos are not associated with the deficient monsoon.'
Skymet is credited with correctly predicting the 2009 drought.
Monsoon in August was almost 24 per cent below normal, which was the sixth driest August since 1901. It came on the back of a 7-per cent monsoon shortfall in July.
