The south-west monsoon is likely to hit the national capital in a day or two as pre-monsoon showers drenched the city on Tuesday, bringing respite to denizens who have been braving an intense heat wave for the past week. Various parts of the city received rains during the past 12 hours, which brought down the temperature to tolerable levels around 25 degree Celsius, the Meteorological office said. The city has received over 10 mm of rains in the past three days.
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.
Monsoon normally hits Kerala on June 1 but this year, Met department had predicted that it will hit the state on June 5.
'We expect inbound numbers in 2025 to come close to pre-pandemic levels -- if not fully match them -- by early 2026.'
There are no plans of creating artificial rain.
We invited readers to send in their interesting monsoon snapshots. Here is the next set of responses -- and you can share yours too!
'The first two months of monsoon are not looking good.' 'In case both the halves fail, it is going to be misery.'
The crucial south-west monsoon is expected to bring its first showers to Kerala on June 3, a slight delay that could be attributed to the cyclone activity over the Bay of Bengal. "Southwest monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on June 3," said Chief Monsoon Forecaster, India Meteorological Department D Sivananda Pai.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts above-normal rainfall for India in September, following a monsoon season marked by heavy downpours and related disasters in various regions. The forecast indicates normal to above-normal rainfall for most areas, with some exceptions in the northeast, east, extreme south peninsular India, and parts of northwest India.
Gearing up for the South West Monsoon, which is not far away, Ayurveda and Tourism industry in Kerala are all set to woo tourists with rejuvenation packages and never before offers to beat the lean rainy season.
Southwest monsoon, critical for the farm-based economy of the country, is expected to reach Kerala on May 30, two days before its normal onset date in the coastal state.
The country received 14 mm rainfall from June 1-6 as against 19.9 mm, the normal.
Heavy rains coupled with strong winds claimed 46 lives in Maharashtra even as hot conditions prevailed in North India on Wednesday.
Northern India experienced a slide in temperatures across the region even as the country's south welcomed the south-west monsoon which set in over Kerala and Lakshwadeep on Saturday.
The monk claimed that since the closure of the feeding area, the pigeon population has drastically declined.
On May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
The death toll included over 450 from intense heat wave last summer, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
The early onset of the southwest monsoon brought continuous rainfall across southern and eastern India, contributing to this record.
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).
On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank were the laggards. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall across India in June, with most parts of the country likely to experience normal to below-normal maximum temperatures. The IMD also anticipates above-normal minimum temperatures across most of the country, except for some parts of central India and the adjoining south peninsula. The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on May 24, marking its earliest arrival over the Indian mainland since 2009. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture-dependent economy, providing vital water for crops and supporting drinking water and hydropower generation.
"This year, the Southwest Monsoon is likely to set over Kerala on May 31 with a model error of four days," the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee resigned as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, citing unfair blame for lack of coordination among MPs and internal party conflicts.
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.
Sarfaraz has taken an unconventional route to keep himself battle-ready - turning up in the Kanga League, a competition few modern-day Mumbai internationals participate in.
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.
Retail inflation declined to a five-year low of 3.54 per cent in July mainly on account of subdued prices of food items, and base effect, according to official data released on Monday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was 5.08 per cent in June 2024 and 7.44 per cent in July 2023.
Reserve Bank on Thursday retained the growth and inflation projection at 7.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively for the current fiscal amid expectations of a normal monsoon. In its last bi-monthly monetary policy review in June, RBI had projected real GDP growth and retail inflation at the same.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in Odisha since April 15 and the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the MeT department.
The Jain community, for whom feeding pigeons is a sacred tradition, have fiercely opposed the closure, with demonstrations in Mumbai highlighting the cultural significance and the distress of pigeons dying on streets.
With conditions not favouring its progress, southwest monsoon is expected to hit the Kerala coast by June 4, three days after its normal onset date, the MET department has said.
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rains of 6 cm to 20 cm of rain.
Timely onset of south-west monsoon is crucial for kharif (summer) crops.
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.
Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan made the announcement in the assembly while replying to a notice seeking adjournment motion moved by Congress-led UDF opposition on the serious situation prevailing in the state due to the sharp decrease in rainfall.
Next week could see some respite from the heat.
While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, the Met office said.
