Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra visits the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, which is fast being turned into another mandir-masjid dispute.
Weather scientists attribute the early onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.
The weather system remained practically stationary during the last six hours and weakened to a depression, and is likely to turn into a well-marked low pressure area during the next 12 hours, it said in a bulletin.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
'...to prevent this episode from disrupting ongoing cooperation.' 'The discovery of this plot had the potential to derail much of what has been achieved in the relationship during this administration's tenure -- I don't think that fact has been sufficiently appreciated in India.'
It rained in the periphery of Delhi -- Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and Karnal in Haryana -- but clouds hovered over the national capital, without giving any relief from the heat.
Since its formation on June 6 in the southeast Arabian Sea, Biparjoy had maintained a northward track, gathering strength and becoming an extremely severe cyclonic storm on June 11, packing wind speed of more than 160 kmph, and then losing intensity a day later.
In the coming months, globally as well as in India, rice might remain a hot potato.
Intense monsoon rains brought normal life to a standstill in several parts of eastern and central Rajasthan, flooding out roads, rail tracks, low-lying residential areas and hospitals and claiming seven lives since Sunday night.
The India meteorological department has issued a yellow alert, warning of a fresh heatwave spell in Delhi which may see temperatures soaring to 44 degrees Celsius by Wednesday.
The mercury soared to 46.2 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, making it the hottest place in the capital.
Rauf Azhar, born in 1974 in Pakistan, had been sanctioned by the United States in December 2010.
Tourism is badly affected. Entire apple orchards have been washed away. 2 million people are threatened with loss of livelihood.
Kharif crops were sown in only 4.15 lakh hectares against the target of 28.27 lakh hectares till July 21 or only in 14.71 per cent of the arable land.
The metropolis also saw two other incidents of wall collapse amid heavy rains since Friday, injuring five persons.
India is likely to experience below-normal monsoon rainfall this year, with a 20 per cent chance of drought due to the end of La Nina conditions and the potential for El Nino to take hold, private forecasting agency Skymet Weather said on Monday.
A forest department official blamed the sweltering heat for the death of this cub's three siblings on Tuesday.
Shivam Dube carried his rich recent form into domestic circuit cracking a rapid fifty but Shreyas Gopal's four-wicket haul ensured that Mumbai were bowled out for 251
Above-normal heatwave days are predicted in most parts of central, east and northwest India during this period.
The system lay centered at 5.30 am over Southeast Bay of Bengal, about 450 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 380 km west of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 1030 km south-southeast of Puri (Odisha).
The government on Saturday imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 per tonne on onion exports till December 31 this year with a view to increase availability of the vegetable in the domestic market and contain prices. The decision will come into effect from October 29. Besides, the government has also announced the procurement of additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion for the buffer, over and above the 5 lakh tonnes already procured.
Tourist hot spots like Gulmarg and Pahalgam woke up on Friday morning under a thick blanket of snow.
Bankura continued to top the maximum temperature chart at 43.7 degrees Celsius, while Panagarh in Paschim Bardhaman district followed closely at 43.5 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
The request was made soon after the balloon was shot down on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean.
The country can expect normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season as a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and a lower snow cover over the northern hemisphere are likely to counter the evolving El Nino conditions, the India meteorological department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
Reliance Jio has sent a second legal opinion to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the subject of the potential allocation of satellite spectrum. The letter is written by retired Supreme Court Justice L Nageshwara Rao and argues in favour of auctions, stating that any other method for allocating spectrum apart from auctions could be constitutionally unsound. Business Standard has reviewed the letter.
Several global models are predicting El Nio to appear around the second half of the year, which are the crucial rain-bearing months.
The situation could worsen if weather predictions of more rain in the capital and upper catchment areas come true.
The snowfall has prompted authorities to shut down the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and schools and colleges are also shut.
Scientists had earlier said the cyclone pulled the moisture and convection, impacting the intensity of the monsoon and delaying its onset over Kerala.
The duo used their mobile phone to establish contact for their rescue, following which an NDRF team was roped in.
The weather system over the South Andaman Sea and the adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal is very likely to move north-westwards and strengthen into a depression by Saturday, the Met Department said.
The plane crash resulted in an electricity cut-off that affected over 90,000 homes and businesses throughout Montgomery County.
There was no report of any major water-logging anywhere in the city so far.
The southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala during the next two to three days, marking a sluggish start to the seasonal rains that are the lifeline of India's agri-based economy.
Authorities have suspended civil construction works in Delhi and Haryana as part of emergency measures to improve air quality.
A total of 435 people died in the country due to extreme weather events during the last three months of the southwest monsoon, according to the data compiled by the India meteorological department.
There could be occasional gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph as per the weather bureau's prediction.
Skymet says the IMD ignored the required criterion of two days of necessary rainfall to declare a proper onset of monsoon, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
The experts said that climate change is not only raising temperatures and making India's heatwaves hotter, but also changing weather patterns that further drive dangerous weather extremes.
