According to IMD, the cyclonic storm weakened into a 'deep depression' at 11:30 pm on Friday over Southeast Pakistan.
The India Meteorological Department has said that the landfall process of Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has started in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat. The landfall process will carry on till midnight with wind speeds reaching a maximum of 140 kilometres per hour, the IMD said.
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'
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.
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.
'While every year presents new challenges, it also provides opportunities for better growth and performance.'
As the month ended with 33 per cent deficiency, which translates to around 67 per cent of the Long Period Average, several parts of the country have been witnessing drought-like situation.
After a steady surge, prices of pulses, except those of urad and masoor to some extent, are showing signs of stabilising amid a revival of monsoon rains over major growing areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka, and on expectations of a rise in imports. Chana prices, which too had moved up in recent months, have dropped by almost 3 per cent since the end of August due to increased liquidation of government stocks, official data shows. Monsoon rains seem to have benefitted the standing soybean crop as well.
A low-pressure area, set to form over east central Bay of Bengal on May 22, is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and strike the Odisha-West Bengal coast on May 26, the Met department said on Thursday, sparking fears of another Amphan-like catastrophe.
Over the past few days, deaths due to heat stroke have been reported from different parts of the country including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
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.
Landslides and flash floods triggered by incessant rain in Himachal Pradesh have paralysed normal life.
Millions of farmers plant rice, cane, corn, cotton and soybean crops in the rainy months of June and July. Harvesting starts from October
After a stellar run on the bourses that saw tractor stocks rise up to 52 per cent, analysts are turning cautious on the sector as muted demand trends may weigh in the near-term. Total volumes in the tractor segment for the last three quarters of the current financial year (9MFY24) have remained weak with VST Tillers, Escorts Kubota, and M&M seeing declines of 21 per cent, 5 per cent, and 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), respectively, during the period, amid patchy rainfall, delayed crop harvest, and lower reservoir level. Across industry, total domestic sales volume so far in the current financial year (April '23 to January '24) has declined 5 per cent Y-o-Y, as per Tractor Manufacturers Association (TMA).
July and August are expected to receive 107 per cent and 104 per cent of rainfall
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.
At the review meeting, chaired by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba in New Delhi, the IMD said above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of northeast, east and central India and some parts of northwest India.
The stress test finding, favouring small countries, goes against generally prevalent economic thinking that large economies like China and India are better placed to face economic slowdown because of the diversified nature of the economy, in which some sectors witness robust demand to mitigate the impact of a demand slowdown in other sectors.
El Nino is often associated with below average warmer, dry weather across Asia Pacific region.
Unseasonal rain coupled with lightning and thunderstorm lashed parts of Mumbai in the wee hours of Thursday, bringing some respite from the hot and humid weather in the city, civic officials said.
The mercury soared to 46.2 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, making it the hottest place in the capital.
A punishing cold wave swept Delhi on Monday morning with the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory, the city's base station, plunging to 1.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the month since January 1, 2021.
The IMD has predicted moderate showers in Mumbai on Tuesday and high intensity rains in neighbouring Raigad.
This time, Delhi saw a sharp improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali which can be attributed to intermittent rainfall on Friday and wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
A railway official said around 20 trains were delayed by 15 minutes to 2 hours in the morning.
States have been told to prepare in advance to counter any impact of an adverse southwest monsoon.
The rains were being caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over north east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in its bulletin.
The duo used their mobile phone to establish contact for their rescue, following which an NDRF team was roped in.
The IMD defines a normal monsoon as one which delivers between 96 and 104 per cent of the 50-year average rainfall for the season.
The India meteorological department said another western disturbance is likely to bring storms and rain to the northern plains, including Delhi, over the next few days.
Commuters on some routes, including the Harbour line that operates services between Panvel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), complained of delay in train operations in the morning hours.
Delhi's minimum temperature on Wednesday morning plunged to 4.4 degrees Celsius -- the season's lowest -- making the national capital colder than Dharamsala, Nainital and Dehradun.
An alert of "very heavy" rainfall in Mumbai has been issued by the Indian Meteorological Department's regional centre on Tuesday, with the rains expected to intensify in the next 24 hours.
A 22-year-old person was killed and another one injured on Thursday after a tree fell on their hut in Mumbai as moderate to heavy rains lashed the city and its suburbs in the last 24 hours, officials said.
The local train traffic on the Central and Western Railway routes was mostly normal though the trains were running a few minutes late, railway officials said.
IMD will present its month-wise and region-wise forecast in June.
The onset of the southwest monsoon is being keenly watched this year as it may provide an early sign regarding its progress over the Indian subcontinent, particularly when El Nio is expected to rear its head during the latter half of the season.
A siren giving a warning about tsunami erroneously started playing from the Early Warning Dissemination System at Porvorim near Panaji, triggering panic among the local residents, an official said on Thursday.
It said the weather system was expected to intensify into a deep depression by 5.30 am on Wednesday and turn into Cyclone Mocha in the next 12 hours, packing wind speeds of 80-90 kmph and gusting to 100 kmph.
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