The Southwest Monsoon has arrived in Kerala and advanced into much of Northeast India, the IMD announced on Thursday
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
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 average rains will help India, which depends heavily on the summer rains for its farm output, boost agriculture and overall economic growth
The ongoing spell of heavy rains in Kerala has affected normal life, with scores of houses suffering damage, roads being submerged, trees uprooted, flood water entering houses and trains running late as a result of the steady downpour that continued to lash the state on Saturday. Flood water entered houses, schools and shops located in low-lying areas of Kuttanad in coastal Alapuzha district. Potholes appeared on roads, posing a threat to vehicle users in many places there. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department today forecast heavy rainfall at one or two places in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Kottayam districts. At Kaikulangara in Kollam district, a family of four had a narrow escape as the tiled roof of their house collapsed due to heavy showers. Residents of the house escaped with minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, police said. Another house in Kannettumukku here was completely damaged following downpour in the small hour
Heavy rains continue to lash Kerala with parts of the state receiving over 200 mm of rain in the last 24 hours and places in major cities including Kochi and Thrissur remaining waterlogged on Friday. As the southern state reels under the impact of heavy pre-monsoon rains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) today issued an Orange alert for three districts. An Orange alert has been issued for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts. A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert denotes very heavy rainfall of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm. State Revenue Minister K Rajan, who met the media today said parts of the state received over 20 cm of rain in the last 24 hours. Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode district received 226.2 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, he added. He said while Cherthala in Alappuzha district received 215 mm rain, Kumarakom in Kottayam district and Thamara
The heatwave situation is expected to persist in the country, the temperature is close to 48 degrees Celsius. No relief in sight, according to IMD
The onset of monsoon over Kerala marks the start of its four-month journey across the mainland, which culminates with the rains withdrawing from the far west corner of Rajasthan
The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's $3.5 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70 per cent of the rain that India needs to water farms
FinMin report says rupee expected to remain within comfortable range
I think from the meteorological point of view, it is good news and gives confidence on the monsoon, which is crucial for agriculture and water resources, says Mohapatra
Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today
Policy must focus on long-term management issues
Seasonal rains expected to be 102% of the long-period average of 868.6 mm for four-month period, it say
After delivering a warm 2023, El Nino conditions are set to dissipate by June this year raising hopes of "bountiful monsoon" rains this season, meteorologists have predicted. At least two global climate agencies announced last week that El Nino, the warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean that impacts weather across the world, has started to weaken and there is a probability of La Nina conditions setting in by August. Weather scientists in India, tracking the developments closely, have said that La Nina conditions setting in by June-August could mean monsoon rains would be better this year than the last year. However, they also struck a word of caution citing the 'spring predictability barrier', considered a forecasting headache as weather models have a harder time making accurate forecasts. Madhavan Rajeevan, former secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said there is a good probability of La Nina developing by June-July. "Even if El Nino transitions into ENSO-neutral ...
From the delay in train, flight services to the updates about the interim budget 2024, catch all latest news here
At the same time, 38 per cent of districts saw a high number of excessive rainfall years in 40 years, shows the CEEW study
Income inequality can affect development
A cyclonic circulation over the south Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a low-pressure area, which could turn into a depression over central Bay of Bengal on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department said. The system is expected to bring light to moderate rain in the coastal districts of West Bengal from November 16-18, Regional Met Director G K Das said. "We are keeping a close watch on the direction the system may take and its intensity," Das said. The cyclonic circulation existing over south Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a low pressure, and thereafter into a depression, moving west-northwestwards into central Bay of Bengal on Thursday, the IMD said in a bulletin. It advised fishermen not to venture into the sea during the period, as the system may cause squally weather in large parts of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
The Centre has already clamped down on the export of rice from India and imposed hefty import duties on some other variants, thus wiping off almost 40 per cent of supplies from the world rice markets