Heavy rains continued to pound Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.
Due to heavy fog on Saturday morning, four flights have been diverted from Delhi airport.
It was another chilly morning in Delhi with the minimum temperature settling at 8.2 degree Celsius and dense fog delaying 30 flights and 87 trains.
Beijing blocked the proposal that had been moved by the US and co-designated by India to blacklist Mir under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council as a global terrorist and subject him to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The bounteous monsoon this year has already dumped 1159.4 mm of rainfall in Delhi till Thursday afternoon, the highest since 1964 and the third-highest ever, according to the IMD data
Even as the rescuers are braving hostile weather and difficult terrain for the third day to look for signs of life under the mound of debris at Malin village in Pune, Suresh Talekar, a Pune-based activist has charged the agriculture department officials of culpable homicide, and has filed a complaint at the Ghodegaon police station.
After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday.
The health minister said the Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address heatwave-related illnesses.
The Southwest Monsoon is set to arrive early with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected to receive first seasonal showers on May 15, the weather office said on Thursday.
As per the latest prediction of the weather department, cyclonic storm Nilofar is expected to hit Gujarat on the night of October 31 as a "marginal cyclonic storm", against the earlier prediction of it being "severe".
The weather department said its latest model analysis had indicated that the moist easterly winds in the lower level from the Bay of Bengal would spread to northwest India, covering Punjab and Haryana by July 10, leading to the advancement of monsoon and an increase in rainfall activity over the region, including Delhi, from July 10 onwards.
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.
The highest day temperature so far this summer in Churu was 50.8 degrees on June 1, beating the 49.8 degree record set in 1993, according to the weather department.
The southern districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, woke up to light rain and an overcast sky on Monday as cyclone 'Sitrang' moved towards north Bay of Bengal, raising the likelihood of a downpour during the day and threatening to dampen Diwali festivities.
The system, which moved towards Bangladesh from north Bay of Bengal at a speed of 56 kmph caused moderate to heavy rain and squally weather in West Bengal's coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur, dampening festive spirits on Deepavali and Kali Puja.
The onset of the southwest monsoon is being keenly watched this year as it may provide an early sign regarding its progress over the Indian subcontinent, particularly when El Nio is expected to rear its head during the latter half of the season.
Heavy rainfall in the upper end of Hati river has affected hydro power generation at Indravati power station.
IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that inducing artificial rain can only be attempted when there are clouds or moisture available.
Jalore, Sirohi, Pali and Barmer districts are the most affected and facing flood-like situations, the official said.
The avalanche hit the arterial Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, which connects Gangtok to Nathu La at the China border, around 11.30 am, trapping five-six vehicles with around 30 people under the snow, the Army said in a statement.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections.
The IMD defines a normal monsoon as one which delivers between 96 and 104 per cent of the 50-year average rainfall for the season.
Strong crosswinds and heavy rains with thunder and lightning impacted flight operations from 4.05 pm to 4.51 pm, an airport official said.
Nepal, which is reeling under Saturday's earthquake, is likely to experience widespread rains and thundershowers which may trigger landslides, according to the weather department which has asked people to remain alert.
Floodwaters of the overflowing Yamuna reached the entrance of the Supreme Court in Central Delhi on Friday as the regulator of the Delhi irrigation and flood control department at Indraprastha suffered damage on Thursday evening.
According to the IMD, a rain event is categorised as a cloudburst if a weather station receives 100 mm of rain in one hour.
On day three after a flash flood wreaked havoc in Sikkim's Teesta basin, the number of bodies recovered from the river and mud embankments downstream rose to 22, including seven army men.
Deficient rains can shave 50-80 basis points off gross domestic product and hurt consumption.
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of the district hospital, Dr Divakar Singh, was removed and sent to Azamgarh, allegedly after he made a careless remark about the cause of deaths.
ISRO made efforts to re-establish communication with rover Pragyan and lander Vikram after they were put into sleep mode in September following the onset of night on the moon.
The IMD has predicted moderate showers in Mumbai on Tuesday and high intensity rains in neighbouring Raigad.
Nine more people have died as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh for the third day, taking the death toll to 28, while a red alert has been sounded on Tuesday in six districts including the worst-hit Barabanki and Gonda.
Eleven more patients admitted at Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district hospital have died due to various ailments on Monday, taking the death toll to 68 in five days, officials said.
Heavy rains have battered Himachal Pradesh since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla's Summer Hill, Krishna Nagar and Fagli.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her sixth straight Budget ahead of the Parliamentary elections, matching the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman in her pre-election Budget, which technically is a vote on account and popularly termed an interim Budget, will seek Parliament's nod for a grant in advance to meet the central government's essential expenditure for the first four months of the new fiscal year that starts in April. A new government elected after the April/May general elections will present the full Budget, likely in July.
In the current scenario, form in the IPL will carry a lot of weight for selection in the Indian team bound for USA and Caribbean.
Many years during which monsoons were poor saw high returns, while normal or excess rainfall has also coincided with poor calendar year gains.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered a probe into the incident.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
