Page 27 - Rainfall

At least 70 killed by flooding in Kenya; more rain expected during weekend

Flooding and heavy rains in Kenya have killed at least 70 people since mid-March, a government spokesperson said Friday, twice as many as were reported earlier this week. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. Kenya's government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Friday refuted claims that hundreds of people have died in the ongoing flooding and said the official tally now stands at 70. Five bodies were retrieved Friday from a river in Makueni county, east of the country, after a lorry they were traveling in was swept off a submerged bridge, local station Citizen TV reported. Another 11 were rescued. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said Friday at a news briefing that the government had set aside 4 billion Kenya shillings ($29 million) for emergency relief efforts, but did not provide further details. More than 130,000 people are currently affected with thousands of

NGT directs officials to expedite demarcation of Ganga's floodplain in UP

The National Green Tribunal has directed the authorities concerned to expedite the demarcation of floodplain zones of the Ganga and the Ram Ganga in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district. The green panel was hearing a plea alleging a state-owned company in the energy sector is carrying out illegal construction in the rivers' floodplains in the Milak Kharakpur Baaje village of the district's Munda Pandey block. A tributary of the Ganga, the Ram Ganga originates in Uttarakhand and enters Uttar Pradesh in Bijnor district. In February, a report by the Moradabad district magistrate and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board said a pipeline was being constructed by GAIL. A bench of National Green Tribunal Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said in pursuance of the tribunal's earlier directions, the district magistrate filed another report, saying Rs 1.12 crore had been paid to the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) in Roorkee for demarcation of the floodplain. According to the N

Dubai rains: Indian Embassy in UAE notifies travel advisory for passengers

Dubai International Airport has temporarily limited the number of inbound flights due to unprecedented weather conditions

Dubai floods: IndiGo issues travel advisory amid unprecedented rainfall

As heavy rain lashes the Gulf nation, the Indian Embassy in Dubai emphasised on Thursday that they are in constant touch with UAE authorities and airlines

Dubai rainfall explained: Cloud seeding to drainage management system

UAE began experimenting with cloud seeding around 1982, developing its own seeding agent, known as nano material

Death toll from 4 days of rains rises to 63 in Pak, more rain likely

Lightning and heavy rains led to 14 deaths in Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday, bringing the death toll from four days of extreme weather to at least 63. Most of the deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan's northwest. Collapsing buildings have killed 32 people, including 15 children and five women, said Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Authority. Dozens more were also injured in the northwest, where 1,370 houses were damaged, Anwar said. The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and collapse-related deaths, while Baluchistan, in the country's southwest, reported 10 dead as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods. On Wednesday, Baluchistan was bracing for more rains amid ongoing rescue and relief operations. Heavy rains also came down on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Pakistan is seeing heavier rain in April due to climate change, said Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at th

India likely to experience above-normal rainfall this monsoon: IMD

India is likely to experience above-normal cumulative rainfall in the 2024 monsoon season with La Nina conditions likely to set in by August-September, the IMD has said on Monday. However, normal cumulative rainfall does not guarantee uniform temporal and spatial distribution of rain across the country, with climate change further increasing the variability of the rain-bearing system. Climate scientists say the number of rainy days is declining while heavy rain events (more rain over a short period) are increasing, leading to frequent droughts and floods. Based on data between 1951-2023, India experienced above-normal rainfall in the monsoon season on nine occasions when La Nina followed an El Nino event, India Meteorological Department chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told a press conference here. India is likely to see above-normal rainfall in the four-month monsoon season (June to September) with cumulative rainfall rainfall estimated at 106 percent of the long-period average (87 cm),

Hailstorm hit several parts of Manipur; buildings damaged in villages

The northeastern states are experiencing heavy rainfall, which has caused severe infrastructural damage in the region. In Assam, a portion of the roof collapsed at the Guwahati airport

Light rainfall likely in Delhi, NCR areas in next 2-3 hours, predicts IMD

The national capital received rainfall on March 3 as areas like Mandi House, RK Puram, Indraprastha, Kartavya Path, and Central Delhi witnessed fresh showers

Heavy rain, hail lower India's chance to reap record wheat crop output

The farm ministry in February predicted a record harvest of 112 million tons this year, and farmers will begin collecting crops in April

Untimely rainfall, hailstorms batter wheat, chickpeas, other winter crops

Adverse weather could limit growth in wheat production and complicate the government's efforts to build stocks

Rain lashes in parts of Delhi, pollution levels improve with AQI at 114

Rain lashed parts of the national capital on Saturday, bringing down the pollution levels in the city. Delhi's maximum temperature settled at 25.2 degree Celsius, two notches below the season's average, the India Meteorological Department said. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 18.2 degree Celsius, five notches above season average, the weather office said. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the "moderate category with a reading of 114, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 6 pm. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". The weather department has predicted a generally cloudy sky with light rain for Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 26 and 15 degrees Celsius respectively on Sunday, it said.

Delhi witnesses sudden change in weather, wakes up to light rain

As per the IMD, no significant change in minimum temperatures is very likely over northwest India during the next three days and will fall by 3-5 degree Celsius thereafter

HP records 6% increase in tourist arrivals in 2023 despite disruptions

Tourist arrivals in Himachal Pradesh increased from 1.51 crore in 2022 to 1.60 crore last year, despite the disruptions caused by heavy rainfall, floods and landslides in mid-2023. In the first half of 2023, more than one crore tourists -- 99,78,504 domestic and 28,239 foreign -- had visited the state till June. But tourist inflow completely stopped during the monsoon due to heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides, and disruption caused by these, an official said. Himachal Pradesh suffered losses to the tune of Rs 9,905.77 crore due to the July and August rains, and more than 200 people were killed in rain-related incidents and accidents. Several people were also displaced. In one instance, 75,000 stranded tourists had to be evacuated from the state on July 9 and 10 after roads were blocked in the hill state, according to government data. Following the monsoon mayhem, relief and restoration works were undertake on war-footing. The large flow of tourist during the Kullu ...

Shallow fog seen in parts of north India; IMD predicts rainfall in Delhi

Dense fog was also reported in Rajpura city, in the Patiala district of Punjab. Shivnath, a driver, complained that dense fog is leading to traffic jams

Parts of HP to receive heavy rain, snow on Feb 18-19; orange warning issued

Parts of Himachal Pradesh are likely to witness heavy rain, snow and thunderstorm accompanied with hail and gusty winds on Sunday and Monday, according to the weather office. On Saturday, the weather remained dry and day temperatures rose marginally with Una recording a high of 27 degrees Celsius. The MeT office issued a yellow warning of heavy to very heavy rain/snow and thunderstorm accompanied with hail, gusty winds and lighting at isolated places on February 18 and 19. It predicted heavy rain/snow and thunderstorm accompanied by gusty wind and lighting at isolated places on February 20 and 21, and heavy rains at most places in lower hills and rains and snow in mid and higher hills as a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from Saturday night. The maximum temperature stayed four to 10 degrees above normal in most places, and Kalpa and Keylong in tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts recorded a high of 16 degrees and 4 degrees, 10 and

Himachal suffered loss of Rs 9,905 cr due to heavy rains: Revenue minister

Himachal Pradesh suffered losses to the tune of Rs 9,905.77 crore due to heavy rains during monsoon in 2023, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said in his reply to a question of Congress MLA Rajinder Rana. Negi said that Rs 1,254.22 crore rupees were released to the districts and various departments for relief and Rs 483.16 crore have been released for compensation. No special package has been provided by the central government for disaster relief to the state and a total of Rs 787.25 crore has been given to the state, he said. Replying to another question of Chaitanya Sharma (Congress), Industry Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said that online registration of workers would be done and gaps would be reviewed. He said that 80 per cent employment is being given to the state's youths in many industries but this is not happening in some industries. He said that Rs 350 per day is given to unskilled labourers, Rs 387 to semi-skilled, Rs 435 to skilled and Rs 518 to highly skilled labourers

After rainfall, dry spell expected in northwest India; Delhi temp to drop

From Tuesday onwards, schools in the national capital will resume normal timings as weather conditions improve

Highlights of the day: Delhi airport sees 13 flight diversions on Feb 1

From the delay in train, flight services to the updates about the interim budget 2024, catch all latest news here

Normal to above-normal rainfall likely in northwest India in February: IMD

After experiencing a drier-than-usual December and January, northwest India is expected to see normal to above-normal rainfall in February, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said India cumulatively may experience above-normal rainfall in February. Northwest India recorded just 3.1 mm of rainfall in January, the second lowest since 1901, the IMD said. Northwest India consisting of seven meteorological sub-divisions is most likely to receive above-normal rainfall (more than 122 per cent of the long period average) in February. "Monthly rainfall over the country as a whole during February is most likely to be above normal (more than 119 per cent of the long period average)," Mohapatra said. Normal to above-normal rainfall is predicted over northeast and central India. Below-normal rainfall is likely over south peninsular India. Most parts of the country are likely to witness above-nor