Page 14 - Indian Monsoon

Day after monsoon's arrival, IMD predicts moderate to heavy rains in Mumbai

A day after the onset of the southwest monsoon in Mumbai which led to widespread rains and water-logging in many parts of the city, the IMD has predicted thunderstorm with moderate to heavy showers here on Monday. Monsoon arrived in Mumbai on Sunday, two days ahead of the normal schedule, due to favourable conditions along the Maharashtra coast, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Following heavy rains on Sunday, there was water-logging in many areas like Byculla, Sion, Dadar, Mazgaon, Kurla, Vikhroli and Andheri, severely impacting vehicular movement and causing long traffic jams. Local train services, the city's lifeline, were also delayed as water accumulated on tracks at some locations, officials said. In the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Monday, the island city recorded an average 99.11 mm rainfall, eastern parts of Mumbai registered 61.29 mm downpour and western areas 73.78 mm, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The IMD

Heavy rains lash Maharashtra's Thane, Palghar, waterlogging in some areas

Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra witnessed heavy rains overnight, leading to water-logging in some areas, officials said on Sunday. There were reports of tree branches falling in some areas of Thane city, they said. In the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, Thane city received 37.06 mm rainfall. The maximum downpour of 16.76 mm was recorded between 12.30 am and 1.30 am on Sunday while 10.93 mm rain was witnessed between 3.30 and 4.30 am, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said. Some areas in Thane witnessed water-logging due to the showers, an official at the district disaster control room said. Heavy rains also lashed neighbouring Palghar, district disaster control cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said, adding there was no report of any untoward incident due to the downpour.

IMD issues red alert for heavy rainfall in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg

The forecast predicts thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and moderate to heavy spells of rain with gusty winds in these regions

Monsoon rains: IMD predicts heavy rains, gusty winds across Kerala today

With Southwest Monsoon continuing to dump rains in Kerala, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted heavy downpour and gusty winds in various places across the state on Saturday. According the latest IMD update, thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall and gusty wind speed reaching upto 40 kmph is expected at one or two places in Thiruvananthapuram district. Thunderstorm with moderate rainfall and gusty wind speed reaching 40 kmph is likely to occur at one or two places in Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts, it said. The weather department also predicted light rainfall at one or two places in all other districts of the southern state. Meanwhile, the shutters of Aruvikkara Dam in Thiruvananthapuram were raised by 25 CM on Saturday morning, district authorities said. The shutters may be further raised in the coming hours and those living in the area should exercise caution, they added.

Vande Bharat average speed down from 84 to 76 kmph in 3 years: RTI response

The average speed of Vande Bharat trains has decreased from 84.48 kmph in 2020-21 to 76.25 kmph in 2023-24, the railway ministry said in a response to an RTI query. Railway officials said not only Vande Bharats but many other trains are also maintaining cautionary speed at places were "huge infrastructural work" is underway. "Besides this, some Vande Bharat trains have been launched in difficult terrain areas where there are speed restrictions due to geographical reasons or extreme weather conditions," a railway official said. Citing the example of the Vande Bharat train between Mumbai CSMT and Madgaon, an official of the Central Railway Zone said, "Most of the Konkan railway area is 'ghat' section where trains pass through low height mountain ranges. It is a difficult terrain area where increasing speed could compromise safety." "Things become very challenging during the monsoon season when we have to keep the maximum speed for all trains at 75 kmph," he added. The RTI applicant

Rainfall, strong winds likely over 10 districts in MP in next 24 hours: Met

The met office also issued an orange alert in some districts which include Barwani, Khargone, Khandwa, Indore, Dewas, Dhar, Betul, Ujjain, Jhabua and Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh

Monsoon reaches Maharashtra, likely to hit Mumbai by June 10: IMD

Several parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing severe water shortage, with high temperatures exacerbating the situation

IMD issues heatwave alert until June 9, 'yellow' alert for Goa, Maharashtra

IMD weather update: The weather department issued an 'orange' alert for heavy rainfall in Goa, Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra, Coastal Karnataka, Assam, and Meghalaya

Unintended consequence

Shift in paddy sowing is not helping

Several parts of Mumbai receive season's first pre-monsoon showers

Several parts of Mumbai received the first pre-monsoon showers of the season on Wednesday morning, bringing some respite to residents from the scorching heat and humidity. Mumbaikars woke up to a cloudy morning and some parts of the city later started receiving light rains from around 7 am. Many parts of the city like Dadar, Kandivali, Magathane, Oshiwara, Wadala, Ghatkopar witnessed showers in the range of 4 mm to 26 mm between 7 am and 8 am, a civic official said. Some parts of central and south Mumbai also received light rain. Road traffic and trains services were running normal in the city, the official said. Monsoon usually arrives in Mumbai in the second week of June. Last month, Mumbai witnessed unseasonal rain with gusty winds during which a hoarding collapsed in Ghatkopar area, claiming several lives.

Bengaluru rains break 133-yr-old record, city registers wettest June day

The city received around 111 mm of rainfall on Sunday evening, breaking its 133-year-old record of the highest-ever rainfall in a single day in June

ONGC slashes offshore helicopter sorties during monsoon to avoid accidents

India's top oil and gas producer ONGC has slashed helicopter sorties to its installations in the middle of sea on both east and west coast for three months to avoid any repeat of deadly accidents during monsoon that have plagued the firm's otherwise impeccable record, sources said. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has raised the duration of work-related stay of its employees at offshore platforms that help produce oil and gas from below seabed, from 14 days to 21 days but still short of the international norm of 28 days. This temporary measure is only for three months from June to August and has been effected with a view to cut the number of sorties helicopters would need to undertake to ferry men and material to the installations, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. ONGC did not reply to an email seeking to know why it is following a 21-day cycle when internationally 28-day cycle is followed. Internationally, personnel manning offshore oil and gas installations ar

Red alert as Southwest monsoon causes landslides, waterlogging in Kerala

With Southwest monsoon intensifying in Kerala two days after its onset, heavy downpours lashed several parts of the state, especially in south and central districts triggering landslides, uprooting trees and waterlogging. Continuous rains for hours caused widespread destruction in the high-range areas of Kottayam and Idukki districts, while intense rains caused severe waterlogging and traffic snarls in the low-lying areas of Thrissur district. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) updated its weather warning, placing the central district of Thrissur and northern districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode under red alert on Saturday. An orange alert was sounded in Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad and a yellow alert was issued in six districts. A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm. Landslides and trees getting uprooted wer

Heatwave scare grows as Nagpur boils at 56 degrees C, all eyes on monsoon

The Nagpur Automatic Weather Station (AWS) recorded 56 degrees Celsius, while the AWS at the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Sonegaon also recorded 54 degrees Celsius

Flood in Assam: Nearly 200K people including 36,000 children affected

The flood waters submerged 3238.8 hectares of crop area in the flood-hit districts

Arriving early: Monsoon sets in over Kerala and Northeast, says IMD

Meteorologists meanwhile said that the rains after arriving over Kerala will quickly cover neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but then might slacken a bit

Southwest monsoon arrives in Kerala, says IMD: Here is what it means

The Southwest Monsoon has arrived in Kerala and advanced into much of Northeast India, the IMD announced on Thursday

Goa prepared to tackle upcoming monsoon season, assures CM Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has said the coastal state is prepared to tackle the upcoming monsoon season, with the disaster management authorities ready to act. Sawant was talking to reporters after chairing a meeting tied to disaster management ahead of rains. He said the disaster management authorities in the state are ready to act in case of emergencies in Goa. We had prepared a Goa heatwave action plan for prevention and mitigation of heat in which we provided timely advice to people, Sawant said. In the wake of the monsoon season, Sawant said an airport emergency response plan has also worked out. This plan covers both airports (in Goa), he added. An emergency response support system in association with the National Disaster Management Authority is in place and various municipalities and panchayats have been allocated special funds for pre-monsoon works. The Panaji corporation has been given Rs 1 lakh, while Rs 50,000 has been given per municipality and Rs 25,000 per

Goldman Sachs ups India 2024 GDP forecast to 6.7%; sees RBI rate cut in Q4

RBI's MPC has sounded caution on sticky food inflation, Goldman Sachs says, owing to supply-side disruptions due to the ongoing hot weather conditions in many parts of India

Above normal rainfall likely this monsoon; to boost economic growth: IMD

Above average rains will help India, which depends heavily on the summer rains for its farm output, boost agriculture and overall economic growth