Page 5 - Monsoon

Southwest monsoon sets in over Odisha, four days ahead of schedule: IMD

The Southwest Monsoon set in over Odisha on Saturday, four days ahead of its schedule, and covered parts of Malkangiri district, the met office said. The IMD also forecast that thunderstorms with lightning accompanied by gusty surface windspeed reaching 30-40 kmph are likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Koraput and Rayagada on Sunday. Southwest Monsoon has set in over Odisha today. It covered some parts of Malkangiri district of Odisha, the regional centre of India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bhubaneswar, said in its evening bulletin on Saturday. The met department said that the monsoon hit Kerala on June 5 and advanced over the entire south Arabian Sea, some parts of the central Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep, parts of coastal and south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and parts of the Bay of Bengal before reaching Odisha's Malkangiri. Meanwhile, it said that the heat wave conditions are likely to prevail a

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.

Monsoon reaches Kerala. When it will hit Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi

The Southwest Monsoon has arrived in Kerala two days ahead of its usual date of June 1, according to the IMD. It has also advanced into parts of northeast India as of Thursday, May 30. Watch the video

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

Widespread rains cause damage to property in Kerala; heavy downpour likely

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

Monsoon expected to hit Kerala coast on May 31, to boost crop output

The monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on May 31, with a model error of plus/minus four days, the India Meteorological Department said

Above-normal monsoon rainfall predicted in south Asia for 2024: SASCOF

Above-normal rainfall is expected during the 2024 southwest monsoon season over most parts of south Asia, the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum said on Tuesday. The forecast follows the prediction of above-normal rain in the monsoon season in India on the back of favourable La Nina conditions, expected to set in by August-September. "Above normal rainfall is most likely during the 2024 southwest monsoon season (June-September) over most parts of south Asia, except some areas over northern, eastern, and northeastern parts of the region, where below-normal rainfall is most likely," the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF) said. Above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures are predicted over most parts of south Asia during the season, except a few areas over the southeastern part of the region where normal temperatures are most likely. This regional climate outlook for the 2024 southwest monsoon season has been developed by all nine National Meteorological and Hydrological ...

NDMC to set up control rooms to check waterlogging during monsoon: Official

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will set up six control rooms to check waterlogging during the monsoon season this time, officials said on Thursday. NDMC member Kuljeet Singh Chahal reviewed the measures for the monsoon during the day and said the de-silting work of existing drainage systems in the NDMC area will be completed by June 30. The control rooms will be set up at the Sangli Mess, Khan Market, Netaji Nagar, Malcha Marg, Mandir Marg and Hanuman Road drainage service centres, and will be equipped with portable pumps with generator set, trucks, tools with facilitation of duty officers and manpower, he said. Last year, 300 complaints were received in the control room in connection with waterlogging. The NDMC has identified five vulnerable points of water stagnation -- Africa Avenue, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Panchkuian Road, Purana Quila Road and Lodhi Estate, Chahal said. Permanent pumps and generator sets have been provided at these locations to avoid waterlogging. Th

Above-normal monsoon likely to ease food prices: Finance ministry

FinMin report says rupee expected to remain within comfortable range

Road execution in India to grow 5-8% in FY25 to 12,500-13,000 km: ICRA

Road execution in India is likely to grow 5-8 per cent to 12,500-13,000 km in the current fiscal, after recording a robust expansion of 20 per cent in 2023-24, rating agency Icra said on Tuesday. It added that the pace of execution in this fiscal will be supported by a healthy pipeline of projects, increased capital outlay by the government and focus on completion of projects by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Icra noted that road execution was impacted in the first half of FY24 on account of a prolonged monsoon in certain geographies, which affected productive days. According to Icra, the ministry's project award pipeline is healthy, at above 45,000 km as of March 2024. This is despite the awarding being significantly impacted in FY24 amid delay in approval from the Cabinet for the revised cost estimates of Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase 1 (BMP), it added. Consequently, the overall awards declined by 31 per cent to 8,551 km in FY24 from 12,375 km in FY23. Icra poin

FMCG industry expects improving macro-indicators to drive consumer demand

Leading industry players expect improving macro-indicators and expectations of good monsoon and rabi crops to drive consumer demand for FMCG in the current fiscal. Consumer demand for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) remained sluggish amid a subdued operating condition in the March quarter. The industry expects a mid-to-high-single-digit growth in value/volume in the January-March period, along with a continuation of the gross margins expansion trend, helped by deflation in input cost. The rural demand, which was sluggish in the last few quarters, has picked up pace from the January-March period, and some FMCG makers have reported a narrowing down of the gap with the urban market. Rural India contributes nearly 35 to 38 per cent of the FMCG sales in the country. Besides, further expansion of margins will help the companies to amplify their A&P (advertising & promotional) spending behind their brands, leading listed FMCG firms like Dabur, Marico and Godrej Consumer Products ...

Monsoon woes: Farm sector contracts in Q3, a first in 19 quarters

The growth stood at 5.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2022-23 which also played a part in pulling down agriculture and related sector's GVA

30% districts saw high number of rain-deficit yrs in 4 decades: CEEW study

At the same time, 38 per cent of districts saw a high number of excessive rainfall years in 40 years, shows the CEEW study

EL Nino event to continue until Apr 2024, influencing weather patterns: WMO

The ongoing El Nio event is expected to last at least until April 2024, influencing weather patterns and contributing to a further spike in temperatures on land and over the ocean, according to a new update from the World Meteorological Organisation. The India Meteorological Department earlier this month said EL Nio conditions -- abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- are not likely to influence the southwest monsoon season next year. Amid intensifying El Nio conditions, India received "below-average" cumulative rainfall -- 820 mm compared to the long-period average of 868.6 mm -- during the southwest monsoon season this year. As of mid-October, sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric and oceanic indicators in the central-eastern tropical Pacific are consistent with El Nio, the warm phase of El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The El Nio event developed rapidly during July-August and reached moderate strength by September, and is likely to peak as

El Nino may not influence Indian monsoon much in 2024 season, says IMD

El Nino - the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America - is associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India

NE monsoon rainfall over south India in Oct sixth lowest since 1901: IMD

It also said that data from 1980 to 2022 shows "there is a tendency of delay" in the commencement of northeast monsoon rainfall over Tamil Nadu and its adjoining areas

Dabur flags weak Q2 operating profit on delayed monsoon, festive season

Dabur, which sells Vatika Shampoo and Honitus cough syrup brands, said improving macro economic indicators and positive consumer sentiment will help in "gradual" recovery in urban and rural markets

Diesel sales down 3% in September, petrol up 5.4% amid receding monsoon

Diesel sales in India fell 3 per cent in September as a receding monsoon continued to dampen demand and slowed industrial activity in some parts of the country, preliminary data of state-owned firms showed. While diesel sales by three state-owned fuel retailers fell year-on-year, petrol sales rose in September. Consumption of diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country -- accounting for about two-fifths of the demand, fell to 5.81 million tonnes in September from 5.99 million tonnes demand in the same period a year ago. Demand dipped by over 5 per cent in the first half of September, and consumption picked up in the second half as rains receded. Month-on-month sales were up 2.5 per cent when compared to 5.67 million tonnes of diesel consumed in August. Diesel sales typically fall in monsoon months as rains lower demand in the agriculture sector, which uses the fuel for irrigation, harvesting and transportation. Also, rains slow vehicular movements. Consumption of diesel had soa