The south-west monsoon on Tuesday started withdrawing from parts of south-west Rajasthan and adjoining Kutch in Gujarat, with at least eight states, including rice bowl states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar reporting deficient rains. It was for the first time since 2016 that the monsoon started withdrawing in the third week of September. "Southwest monsoon has withdrawn from parts of southwest Rajasthan & adjoining Kutch today, against its normal date of withdrawal from southwest Rajasthan of September 17," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) tweeted.
Some low-lying areas like the Andheri subway were submerged, forcing authorities to divert the traffic through alternate routes, civic officials said.
East and northeast India recorded 29 per cent rain deficit -- 141.5 mm against the normal of 199.9 mm -- from March 1 to May 3.
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.
Tourism is badly affected. Entire apple orchards have been washed away. 2 million people are threatened with loss of livelihood.
The minimum temperature in the national capital on Saturday settled at 10.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, it said.
A railway official said around 20 trains were delayed by 15 minutes to 2 hours in the morning.
Of these four flights (except Qatar Airways) returned to Kozhikode airport as the weather condition in Kozhikode gained normalcy.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Cooler weather meant that demand for milk products and value-added items like buttermilk and ice-cream did not show the usual rise.
The state government has begun preparations to deal with the fallout of the cyclone as it will bring very strong wind and heavy rainfall in the region, officials said.
The India meteorological department has issued a yellow alert, warning of a fresh heatwave spell in Delhi which may see temperatures soaring to 44 degrees Celsius by Wednesday.
The southwest monsoon is set to make its exit in style, bringing rains to the parched parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as weather forecasters have picked up signs of formation of a cyclonic circulation over Bay of Bengal. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on Thursday junked last week's forecast of early withdrawal of southwest monsoon and announced the extended stay of the seasonal showers. "Even though we expected early withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, a cyclonic circulation over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal will shift the monsoon trough southwards around September 7.
Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police asked commuters to take the alternate route.
The Yamuna river in Delhi swelled to the highest recorded level in 10 years on Tuesday and is expected to rise further, officials said on Tuesday.
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 national capital has been witnessing an incessant spell of light to moderate rain for the past two days.
The maximum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's base station, rose to 42.5 degrees Celsius.
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 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.
The mercury soared to 46.2 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, making it the hottest place in the capital.
The Yamuna surged to a record 208.48 metres at 8 am, the Central Water Commission said on Thursday, adding that it is likely to rise to 208.75 metres by 4 pm.
The average temperatures observed pan-India for April was 35.05 degrees, which was the fourth highest in 122 years.
While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, the Met office said.
After lagging behind other segments in the automotive (auto) space over the past few years, two-wheelers are expected to reverse their volume underperformance. After witnessing a 36.3 per cent volume decline over the 2018-19 (FY19) through 2021-22 (FY22) periods, the sector staged a recovery in 2022-23 (FY23), with volumes rising 17 per cent. While volumes are still a quarter lower than the FY19 peak of 21 million units, a double-digit growth trajectory is expected to prolong.
The finance ministry on Thursday raised concerns over the possible impact of El Nio conditions on India this year, saying if recent forecasts came true, the country could see lower agricultural output and higher inflation. "Some meteorological agencies predict the return of El Nio conditions in India this year. "If these predictions are accurate, then monsoon rains could be deficient, leading to lower agricultural output and higher prices," the ministry said in its monthly economic review.
Mumbai, its satellite cities, north and central Maharashtra and south Gujarat received rains on Wednesday owing to a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea and a western disturbance, the India meteorological department said.
A blinding layer of dense fog over north India, including Delhi, caused major inconvenience to commuters. The visibility levels were 50 metres around 5:30 am.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy', the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year, has rapidly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, with meteorologists predicting a 'mild' monsoon onset over Kerala and 'weak' progress beyond southern peninsular under its influence.
The India Meteorological Department said the southwest monsoon further advanced into Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmiri, some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan on June 30.
Weather scientists attribute the early onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.
Above-normal heatwave days are predicted in most parts of central, east and northwest India during this period.
The sea conditions near the Odisha coast will become rough on May 9 and rougher on May 10.
Heatwaves claimed more than 17,000 lives in 50 years in India, according to a paper authored by M Rajeevan, former secretary of Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with scientists Kamaljit Ray, S S Ray, R K Giri and A P Dimri.
Temperatures in March will be critical to determining the impact of any unusual heatwave conditions on this year's wheat crop in North India. It is that time of the year when the crop enters its vital grain-filling stage, say meteorologists and crop experts. So far, the high day temperatures in the North are not believed to have any significant impact on the final yields since the crop hasn't entered a stage where heat affects yields.
IMD Director General M Mohapatra said there is cyclonic circulation along the Karnataka coast which is hindering the progress of the southwest monsoon.
Delhi saw seven cold wave days in January 2020, while it did not record any such day last year.
Mumbai has received 253.3 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Friday.
The country can expect normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season as a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and a lower snow cover over the northern hemisphere are likely to counter the evolving El Nino conditions, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
Bharadwaj said it has not rained in Delhi in the last 3-4 days, yet still the water level in Yamuna reached 208.66 metres.
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