the Indian Meteorological Department's Mumbai observatory had issued a warning for rain and thundershowers in the city and suburbs beginning from Monday night owing to the cyclonic storm Ockhi which is 670 km south west of Mumbai
'The monsoon has stabilised over Kerala. It is no longer temporary,' Dr S K Subramanian of the Indian Meteorological Department said.
According to Indian meteorological department, tremors were felt in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, lasting for a minute, triggering panic and forcing people to rush out of their homes and offices. There was no official word about casualties from any of the states but reports from West Bengal said cracks appeared in several multi-storeyed buildings in Siliguri in north Bengal. An incident of wall collapse was reported from Telipara in Jalpaiguri district.
The monsoon is expected to reach Delhi around June 29, which is the normal date, but the national capital has already recorded 91mm rainfall, which is more than the normal of 55mm for June.
Normally, the monsoon hits Kerala on June one after which it spans the entire country up to Rajasthan.
Temperatures in 17 locations breached 48 degrees Celsius on Monday, with the relentless heat affecting health and livelihoods across large parts of northwestern and central India.
India recorded around 16 per cent more rainfall than normal in August, with rainfall over Northwest India recorded at 253.9 mm, the second highest in August since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
The tremor, which measured 4.0 on the Richter scale, occurred at 0057 IST on Wednesday.
On May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
It is expected to advance into coastal and south-interior Karnataka during the next two days.
India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
This month has been the "wettest" March in northern and central parts of the country in the past 100 years, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Sunday, and predicted more rains in the coming two weeks.
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the Andaman Sea on Thursday but the Met department ruled out tsunami.
Only 58 overs of play were possible on the first day as bad light followed by heavy showers stopped the proceedings six overs into the third session with India 224 for three.
The graphic above shows the number of heat wave deaths in India each year since 1967.
LIVE! Incessant rains: Red Alert in 5 Kerala districts
Light to moderate rain in many areas with heavy rain at isolated places is likely to occur in West Bengal's coastal districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur.
The health minister said the Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address heatwave-related illnesses.
The Indian Meteorological Department has said that that there has been a forecast for 'heavy to very heavy' rainfall across Konkan and Goa and it includes Mumbai as well.
Tourist centres have been closed in many districts, including Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram, and a night travel ban has been imposed in the hilly areas of Idukki district.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Wind speed at the time is expected to be in the range of 125-135 kmph gusting up to 150 kmph.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy visited some inundated areas in their respective territories.
Mumbai civic body took to Twitter to inform citizens about the do's and don'ts and asked them to "stay hydrated and safe".
Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts are on orange alert while Raigad district has been put on red alert due to Cyclone Tauktae, informed the Chief Minister Office (CMO) Maharashtra on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday revised upwards the GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from 7 per cent on rising private consumption and revival of demand in rural areas. Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) placed India's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8.2 per cent in 2023-24. "During 2024-25 so far, domestic economic activity has maintained resilience," he said, adding that manufacturing activity continues to gain ground on the back of strengthening domestic demand.
'Usually the average rainfall per day is around 8 mm and India is receiving 10 to 11 mm per day since the last one week.' 'July seems to be very good for the entire country.'
Monsoon rains are vital for 55 per cent of the country's farmlands that lack irrigation facilities.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
This would be the second cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea this year.
The Delhi airport, the country's busiest airport, on Friday early morning witnessed the collapse of a roof at Terminal 1 amid heavy rains that killed one person, prompting the government to order a detailed probe and an inspection of the structural strength of all airports.
Increased production of pulses, oilseeds, and cereals will help boost domestic supplies and contribute to keeping inflation low in the coming months.
The arrival of the wet season that is crucial to farmers in India.
An improvement in the wind speed November 21 onwards might bring air pollution levels down.
The very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours and reach the Gujarat coast on Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 248 on Saturday.
As the heavy rains continued on Wednesday also, Orange alert was sounded in 12 of the 14 districts of the state for the day.
