This could have huge implications for agriculture, food prices, supply and overall economic growth of the country
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal also appealed to citizens to save water and use it judiciously.
Monsoon rains are vital for 55 per cent of the country's farmlands that lack irrigation facilities.
While a normal rainfall signals growth and prosperity, a below normal rainfall could spell disaster making food more expensive, aggravating the power, water shortage, hitting industrial production which in turn will put more pressure on the government's kitty.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti were among the laggards. Asian Paints, Wipro, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the biggest gainers.
El Nino refers to abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the Pacific that disrupts weather pattern causing drought and floods in many regions of the world.
With El Nino emerging, forecasts rainfall at 95% of long-period average.
What is it like watching all the Olympian action and drama unfold from the spectators' galleries at the Stade de France?
Conditions are becoming favourable for advance of southwest monsoon over the southern part of Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal during May 18-19, the IMD said.
Southwest monsoon, the key to the agriculture driven trillion-dollar Indian economy, on Tuesday brought showers to Kerala bringing much-needed relief to farmers.
Automobile retail sales in India declined 9 per cent year-on-year in September amid a massive buildup of passenger vehicle inventory due to sluggish demand, dealer's body FADA said on Monday, urging original equipment manufacturers to take corrective steps. The overall registrations declined to 17,23,330 units last month from 18,99,192 units in September 2023, as most of the categories including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers witnessed a year-on-year (Y-O-Y) drop.
Retail inflation increased to four-month high of 5.08 per cent in June as food items, including vegetables became dearer, according to government data released on Friday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was on a decline since January, before rising again in June. The CPI-based retail inflation was 4.8 per cent in May 2024 and 4.87 per cent in June 2023.
India has more variations in soil type and climate than perhaps any other region in the world. Even during a normal monsoon season, many regions receive scanty rainfall while other battle with floods.
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.
According to latest data, crops have been sown in around 72.13 million hectares, which is 8.90 per cent less than the same period last year.
While the IMD had forecast a 'normal' monsoon for the entire season, Skymet stated that rain this year would be 'below normal', report Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Sahil Makkar.
There are no plans of creating artificial rain.
For the second successive day, not a single ball could be bowled at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports complex in Greater Noida putting the venue under scanner and making it an international embarrassment.
Expected to be 95 percent of the long-period average.
Millions of farmers plant rice, cane, corn, cotton and soybean crops in the rainy months of June and July. Harvesting starts from October
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
The IMD dispelled fears by forecasting a normal monsoon for June-September. Rainfall is expected to be 98 per cent of the long period average, significantly higher compared to last year's 77 per cent LPA.
Though monsoon risks to overall economic growth could be limited due to small share of agriculture output in GDP, the impact may be significant because it affects the poor through inflation and income, RBI noted in its 'First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2012-13'.
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.
After a making a slow progress, the southwest monsoon is expected to gain momentum and advance further into several parts of drought-hit Maharashtra and central India.
Monsoon will hit the Kerala coast on June 1, setting the stage for the four-month annual rainfall season crucial for India's agriculture-based economy. "The date of onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala is likely to be on June 1 with a model error of four days," the India Meteorological Department announced on Tuesday.
There is a definite attempt to put the landslides on the backburner because news of them and climate change worry Wayanad's tourism and real estate businesses greatly. Whatever I experienced of Wayanad's 2024 by-elections; the July landslides were not a burning issue, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
India's leading commodity exchange, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and private weather forecasting company Skymet took a significant step towards launching the country's first tradeable weather index on Monday (August 14) by entering into an agreement to deepen their understanding of the impact that weather has on agricultural commodities. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NCDEX and Skymet is a profound step in the direction of linking farmers with the weather in a scientific way, according to an official statement. Sources indicate that NCDEX and Skymet will conduct workshops and seminars across the country to educate farmers about how they can scientifically use weather forecasts to hedge risks.
Sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) witnessed significant recovery in September after enduring a double-digit decline in August, according to data furnished by Bizom. Kirana stores in rural areas stocked up in preparation for the festival season, which began in September. This, combined with rainfall reaching 113 per cent of the long-perid average for the month, contributed to a boost in sales.
Southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Friday marking the start of the rainy season, four days after its normal onset date.
The Centre will review the situation on a fortnightly basis.
The PMO also directed a careful watch on the intensity and spread of rainfall over the next week or so, especially in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Cities are managing to get more water while the majority of people live in villages - the tension is escalating.
Top losers in the Sensex pack were Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, TCS, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank and Infosys, shedding up to 3.08 per cent.
"It happens that there is a break in the rainfall pattern," says BP Yadav, who crunches the relevant numbers at the Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi.
Here's a glimpse of flood situation across north and northeast India.
