Rain threatens to play spoilsport in India's pursuit of a series levelling win in the second and final Test against South Africa in Kolkata as weatherman forecast a cloudy sky with chances of thundershowers lashing the city in the next 24 hours.
The rally was mainly driven by financial, consumer durables, auto and oil and gas stocks.
The rains have so far been four per cent below normal.
Dense to very dense fog engulfed the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Delhi, for the second morning on the trot on Tuesday, lowering visibility to 50 metres in the city and affecting road traffic and train movement.
Monsoon revival over weekend likely, but second-half rainfall may be muted. If the rains become scarce after mid-August, the standing kharif crops might be impacted
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.
'There is no mechanism to understand how things would evolve'.
However, the areas under paddy - the biggest cereal grown during the kharif season - continue to be less than last year, mainly due to delayed onset of rains and also on account of shift towards the more lucrative maize.
The IMD said heatwave conditions are likely to continue over the northern plains, and central and southern parts of the country for two more days and abate gradually.
The Indian Meteorological Department on Sunday stood vindicated over its forecast that Phailin will not be a 'super cyclone' as predicted by some international agencies and said its assessment was "more or less" accurate.
Chief Ministers of both states announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the next kin of the deceased.
Retail inflation slowed to 4.29 per cent in April from 5.52 per cent in March, mainly due to easing food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank mainly factors in the retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) while arriving at its monetary policy. As per the data released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, inflation in the food basket was 2.02 per cent in April, down from 4.87 per cent in the preceding month.
Officials however warned of a 4.81 metre high tide in afternoon coupled with heavy showers, which may cause flash floods in low-lying areas in the city.
In the first of a two-part series, Business Standard examines the impact of the upcoming summer on agriculture and drinking water supply.
Riding high on the hopes of a normal monsoon, the agriculture ministry aims to increase foodgrain production by 6.35 million tonnes to a record 298.3 million tonnes in the 2020-21 crop year. The foodgrain output in the 2019-20 crop year (July-June) is estimated at an all-time high 291.95 million tonnes, as per the second advance estimates released by the ministry in February.
More than 1,600 people died due to extreme weather conditions across the country last year, with severe heat wave claiming the largest chunk of the total deaths at 40 per cent, followed by flooding and lightning.
It has also advanced into most parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of south interior Karnataka and remaining parts of south Bay of Bengal, according to IMD.
A dedicated system to make district-wise, five-day forecasts can effectively deliver at one-tenth the Met's expenditure.
However, it's too soon to see any trend; July rain is key.
A below-normal monsoon is likely to drag down the food output with India's agricultural GDP growth likely to slump to 0.8 pc in the current fiscal, says a report by the Japanese brokerage firm Nomura.
Mumbai and certain adjoining areas experienced pre-monsoon showers, sources said on Sunday.
The UNICEF said an estimated 2.4 million children have been affected by the recent floods in the country.
This could have huge implications for agriculture, food prices, supply and overall economic growth of the country
The IMD has said temperatures in most parts of the country from March to May would be 'above normal'.
The air quality had turned 'severe' on Saturday evening with stubble burning accounting for 32 per cent of Delhi's PM2.5 pollution, but firecracker emissions and calm winds made the situation even worse.
The Indian Meteorological Department, meanwhile, warned of intense spell of 30 to 50 mm rainfall per hour with strong winds in Mumbai and suburban areas.
An Indian think-tank, which aims to forecast the annual rainfall based on an analysis of historical data said on Wednesday that the overall monsoon this year would be 15 per cent below the 120-year long-term average.\n\n\n\n
A third of FMCG sales and half of motorcycle sales come from the hinterlands
The Centre will review the situation on a fortnightly basis.
Pollution levels in Delhi during the Diwali period are likely to remain in the higher end of the 'very poor' category in the absence of emissions due to fireworks, the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR said.
Waterlogging has been reported in several parts of city.
Due to heavy fog on Saturday morning, four flights have been diverted from Delhi airport.
Officials said good rain in August - though it might not improve acreages much for most crops except urad, moong, and paddy - would help in improving yields in the crops already planted.
At present, the Met department is often unable to provide exact information on the exact amount of rain over a localised area.
A likely western disturbance over north India during the weekend might cause heavy to very heavy showers in a few places, including New Delhi.
The India Meteorological Department said Delhi recorded 139 mm of rainfall, the highest one-day rain for August in at least 13 years.
Southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Friday marking the start of the rainy season, four days after its normal onset date.
Moderate to heavy showers will continue over Mumbai for next 48 hours.
Schools and colleges in the city and adjoining districts have been closed as a precautionary measure.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced Rs 10,000 as immediate relief to each flood-hit household in Hyderabad, lashed by incessant rains since last week, besides an assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to those whose houses were completely destroyed and Rs 50,000 for the partially damaged.
