The slow progress of the south-west monsoon has led to overall deficiency of rains by 22 per cent over the last fortnight, the meteorological department on Wednesday said.
The weather office in Mumbai has sounded a cyclone alert for the coastal regions of south Gujarat and north Maharashtra, where it is expected to make a landfall in the early hours of Thursday.
Twelve of the 36 meteorological subdivisions recorded deficient rainfall, while the rest witnessed normal to excess rain. In total, 38 per cent of the 662 districts received below-normal rain.
The last known urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was immersed in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai on Wednesday morning on the occasion of his 60th death anniversary. Descendants of Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Governor of Maharashtra S M Krishna and Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil were present at the ceremony held in South Mumbai today morning. The urn at Mani Bhavan was donated by Bharat Narayan, grandson of industrialist Jamanalal Bajaj.
The Centre on Monday reviewed the preparedness of relief and rescue measures taken by Gujarat and offered help to the state in the wake of impending cyclonic storm Nilofar, which will make its landfall on Friday.
The depression will intensify into a deep depression --- the third and fourth stage of any cyclone formation --- by this evening. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by June 2, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
"Conditions are favourable for dust storms over Delhi and nearby areas. We are expecting a fall in temperatures," Dr R D Singh of the Indian Meteorology Department said.
A company official said work stopped temporarily only at two rigs and the remaining 34 in the offshore were operational. He added there was no impact on the company's production.
The duo used their mobile phone to establish contact for their rescue, following which an NDRF team was roped in.
The urn containing the ashes presently lies at Mani Bhavan in south Mumbai -- a building in which Mahatma Gandhi lived when he visited the city -- where tourists, schoolchildren and people continued to stream in on Tuesday -- the last day of its public display.
"Relevant countries should abandon the obsolete Cold War mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical rivalry concept and view correctly and respect people's aspiration in the region and do more things conducive to regional solidarity and cooperation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
Also, the monsoon this year may end up being the driest since 2015, which recorded a rainfall deficit of 13 per cent, they said.
Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said the monsoon covered south and central Arabian Sea, entire Kerala, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu between May 31 and June 7.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray through video conference and took stock of the state's preparedness to tackle any eventuality, the latter's office said. 10 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in vulnerable districts, while six others have been kept on a stand-by, officials said.
Immersions of several big idols, including the popular Lalbaugcha Raja, continued into Friday morning, the official added.
There could be occasional gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph as per the weather bureau's prediction.
Heavy rains continue to lash parts of Kerala on Monday affecting Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kottayam districts the most resulting in death of three people and widespread damage to property.
In Delhi, Safdarjung, the base station for the national capital, recorded 44.2 degrees Celsius, while Mungeshpur observatory in northwest Delhi, reported 47.3 degrees Celsius.
'Till such time climatic activities resume up north in the plains and the hills, Mumbai's air quality may not improve.'
The US remained "watchful" over developments along India's frontier with China as it cannot take its eyes off the regional security issues, a senior American official said on Wednesday against the backdrop of the over 29-month border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly frayed ties between the two neighbours.
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"Cyclone Nisarga is likely to become a severe cyclone in the next 12 hours. It will continue to move for the next six hours in a northerly direction along the coast, after that it will re-curve as a cyclone and cross Raigad and Daman-Raigad," Aanand Sharma, deputy director, IMD told ANI.
The southwest monsoon season concluded on Saturday with India receiving 'below-average' cumulative rainfall -- 820 mm compared to the long-period average of 868.6 mm -- in an El Nino year.
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening with a wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph as heavy rains lashed the coastal region, where several areas plunged into darkness due to power cuts and a large number of trees, electric poles and hoardings got uprooted.
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Pakistan on Monday successfully test-fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a range of 900 kilometers, days after testing a similar missile capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 kilometers, bringing many Indian cities under its range.
Heavy rains had battered the metropolis on Sunday and Monday as well.
The Chinese navy's growing aggression in the Western Pacific is bringing together a range of allies.
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr last week on a 2-1/2 year deal estimated by media to be worth more than 200 million euros ($210.94 million).
After its late withdrawal from northwest India, the southwest monsoon remains active over some parts of the country.
The Army, the National Disaster Response Force, police and the fire force along with the locals began rescue operations on Sunday morning at Koottickal and Kokkayar panchayats where over a dozen people are listed to be missing due to numerous landslides accompanied by heavy downpour since Saturday.
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.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The southwest monsoon has started on a weak note and this has delayed the sowing of kharif crops. Though a cause for concern, the situation hasn't reached a stage where it warrants any panic response. Moreover, according to meteorologists and industry players, monsoon rains will witness a revival in the coming few weeks.
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The United States will continue to support India with equipment and other things it needs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, a top American admiral has told lawmakers, asserting that Washington and New Delhi share a 'tremendous partnership'.
Last year, China held a meeting with some South Asian countries on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation without the participation of India.
The cyclone would bring light to moderate rains at most places and 'heavy to very heavy downpour' at some places on November 6.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the Foundation for a Rs 3,600-crore grand memorial for Shivaji Maharaj off the Mumbai coast, an event that comes a few months ahead of the civic polls and amid tussle among parties to claim the legacy of the 17th century warrior king.
While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, the Met office said.
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