Rains have been 5% below normal so far, but Met department sticks to its forecast
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 72 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, while the rates of pulses, oilseeds and cereals were hiked substantially. Among the commercial crops, the MSP of cotton was increased by Rs 211 per quintal to Rs 5,726 for medium staple variety, and by Rs 200 per quintal to Rs 6,025 for long-staple variety of cotton for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June). The decision taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help farmers take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks with the spread of the Southwest monsoon in the coming weeks.
Monsoon will be insufficient this year.
A day after Cyclone Yaas tore through coastal Odisha and Bengal to cause havoc as far as Jharkhand, tornadoes, torrential rains, bridge collapses and swelling rivers continued to plague eastern India as people tried to pick up their lives amid the debris of swept away mud homes and swamped farmlands.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, causing flooding on roads and rail tracks and disrupting suburban train services as the south-west monsoon arrived in the city with a bang, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert for more downpour.
Manchester could experience patchy drizzle later in the night.
This is its biggest single session gain since April 5, when it had surged 577.73 points.
Even as the rain kept the country on tenterhooks with regard to the launch of the Chandrayaan, good news has come from the Met department which says that the weather may not play spoilsport after all.
Searing heat conditions prevailed in the northern region as mercury soared to record levels at many places with Churu in Rajasthan registering a blistering high of 48.3 degree Celsius.
Schools and colleges, closed since October 31, were shut on Saturday as well, while several universities postponed their exams.
Met department officials said the rainfall is higher this year due to the change in the currents in the Bay of Bengal. The department warns of more rain till Saturday evening following which the clouds are expected to clear.
If the weather phenomenon hits India, impact will be felt across sectors; be cautious on stocks based on rural consumption.
Rain threat looms large over the fourth One-day International between India and Australia here on Thursday with the weathermen predicting spells of thundershowers in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Isolated heavy rainfall is also very likely over north Konkan region during the same period, it said.
With questions being raised whether large-scale deaths in Uttarkhand could have been averted, the MeT department today said it had issued "timely" warnings of heavy rains and landslides while the state government claimed there was not enough prior indication of a "crisis of this magnitude".
'Southwest Monsoon has advanced into remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab and thus it has covered the entire country today, the 26th June 2020,' the IMD said in its special Daily Weather Report.
Heavy rains brought the city to a virtual standstill on Friday as waterlogged roads and streets slowed down traffic, causing inconvenience to hundreds of commuters.
This should augur well for the rabi crops as delayed withdrawal will leave enough moisture in the soil for early sowing.
Markets taking cue on future rate cuts from RBI policy.
Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belt of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat on Sunday, leaving four people dead in Karnataka and two in Goa, damaging hundreds of houses, uprooting electricity poles and trees and forcing evacuation.
This is the index's biggest single-day fall in almost a month
Cyclone Vayu was to hit the Gujarat coast on Thursday, but it changed course on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
The state government asked the local administration to shift people from low-lying areas in Vadodara if needed as water entered into houses in several localities.
While six persons were killed due to lightning and house collapse in Barabanki, four died in similar incidents in Lucknow on Friday. Two rain-related deaths were reported from Sitapur, officials said on Saturday.
With the mercury rising by almost five degrees in Punjab and Haryana, the states got some respite from the severe cold conditions prevailing for the past several days.
Ten people were killed and 38 others went missing as incessant rains battered Uttarakhand on Saturday triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods which flattened homes and stranded hundreds of pilgrims with the Chardham Yatra coming to a grinding halt.
The flood situation affected nearly 26.5 lakh people across 28 districts.
Due to heavy fog on Saturday morning, four flights have been diverted from Delhi airport.
A cracker of a contest is on the cards when a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their return leg Indian Premier League fixture at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Delhiites woke up to the coldest Christmas in five years on Sunday as the mercury plunged to the season's lowest of 2.9 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal.
The depression over southeast Bay of Bengal in Andaman and Nicobar Islands developed into a deep depression and intensified into a cyclonic storm "Vardah."
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.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gujarat, have been left out, despite a strong start to the monsoon in June
Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai for the third consecutive day on Monday, disrupting rail and air traffic.
Heavy rains in Mumbai caused major water logging in areas like Lower Parel on Saturday, leaving residents and commuters stranded, and causing a huge traffic gridlock.
Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Mumbai for the second consecutive day on Friday, disrupting rail and air traffic, causing inconvenience to a lot of commuters.
The government has also extended till August 31 the repayment date of short-term crop loan of up to Rs 3 lakh for agriculture and allied activities. The decision, taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will give respite to farmers and also help them take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks up with the arrival of southwest monsoon.
A high-intensity earthquake struck the Hindukush region in Afghanistan on Monday, tremors of which were felt in several parts of North India including Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi.
"Our efforts will be to maintain four per cent agriculture growth this year and beyond that if monsoon cooperates," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said in New Delhi.
North India was shaken by an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude on Richter Scale this evening but there was no immediate report of any loss of life or property. The quake occurred at 5:02 pm, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
