Page 7 - Rains

Despite hoping for better prices this season, rain dampens farmers' returns

Growers are staring at lower margins due to unexpected downpour during the March harvest. However, the FCI has come to their rescue

Govt relaxes wheat procurement norms in Punjab, Haryana, C'garh, Rajasthan

The Centre has relaxed quality norms for wheat procurement in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent distressed sale as well as protect the interest of farmers, a senior official said on Tuesday. The recent untimely rainfall, hailstorm and high velocity wind have damaged the standing wheat crop, which was ready for harvest, in some parts of these states. These state governments had demanded the relaxation in procurement norms. Currently, wheat procurement is underway in Madhya Pradesh, while it has been delayed in other states because of untimely rains. State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) along with state agencies undertake the procurement of wheat. "After the field survey, we have relaxed the quality norms for procurement of wheat in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Rajasthan in order to reduce hardship of farmers and to avoid distressed sale of wheat," Subodh Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary in the Union Food Ministry, told PTI. The government has relaxed t

Maha govt releases Rs 177.8 cr for losses suffered by rain-affected farmers

The Maharashtra government on Monday said it has released Rs 177.80 crore relief to be disbursed to farmers who suffered crop losses due to unseasonal rains in March. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had earlier given instructions to officials to process the damage assessment claims and disburse financial assistance, a statement issued by the government said. After verification, the state government has disbursed Rs 177.80 crore to districts, where farmers suffered losses due to unseasonal rains last month, it said. As per the statement, the Aurangabad revenue divisional commissioner has received Rs 84.75 crore, followed by Rs 63.09 crore to Nashik, Rs 24.57 crore to Amaravati and Rs 5.37 crore to Pune.

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Untimely rains and hails damage about 20% of mango crop, says ICAR

The mango crop in the country has been damaged up to 20 per cent because of untimely rains, hailstorm and strong wind, according to senior ICAR officials. Many mango growers said the damage has been huge in North India due to hailstorm and thunderstorm. Mango is an important fruit crop in India and popularly called the 'King of Fruits'. India is a major mango growing country, contributing nearly 42 per cent of the world's production. Since last few days, unseasonal rains, hailstorm and gusty wind due to the western disturbance have impacted both foodgrain and horticultural crops in some parts of the country. "First untimely rains did not cause damage, but later rains and hailstorm have badly impacted the mango crop. We anticipate the total damage to be about 20 per cent as of now," Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) Deputy Director General (Horticulture) A K Singh told PTI. The frequency of the mango crop loss has been more in North India, especially Uttar Pradesh which

Various parts of country to continue getting on-off rains till Apr 12: IMD

How far and how much with the next round of rains impact the standing crop is under realm of speculation

IMD predicts light to moderate rain within next 3 hours in parts of Chennai

Though the maximum temperature has risen across the state, north easterlies prevail over the region in the lower tropospheric would give showers to south coastal Tamil Nadu, the Met said

Rains, high-velocity winds across Punjab leave wheat farmers worried

Rains lashed many parts of Punjab on Saturday, leaving farmers worried as showers accompanied by high-velocity winds flattened the wheat crop at some places in the state. In the last 24 hours, places including Ludhiana witnessed 13.8 mm rainfall, 25.6 mm in Patiala, 6.6 mm in Pathankot, 5.8 mm in Bathinda, 11 mm in SBS Nagar, according to a report of the MeT department. With rains lashing many places in Punjab, wheat growers were worried about their crop and said showers at this stage would hit the yield. In Hoshiarpur, high-velocity winds and rain damaged standing wheat crops in some parts of the district. Hoshiarpur Chief Agriculture Officer Gurdev Singh said the rain and gusty winds had caused less damage to crops in the district as compared to other districts of the state. Strong winds flattened standing wheat crop at about 150 hectares of land in Mukerian, Tanda and Sham Chaurasi areas of this district. The exact loss to the standing crop was being assessed, said Gurdev Sing

As atmospheric river exits, new storm threatens California with rain

Wet, miserable weather continued across huge swaths of California on Sunday as an atmospheric river that caused major flooding flowed eastward, while a new storm threatened another onslaught of rain, snow and gusting winds as soon as Monday. The National Weather Service said the next system could exacerbate severe flooding that overwhelmed the area in recent days, prompting a levee failure and widespread evacuations Saturday in farming communities near the state's central coast. The new storm is not expected to bring as much rain, but forecasters warned that considerable flooding could occur at lower elevations from additional rain and creeks and streams swollen with snowmelt. Definitely prepare for some more flooding impacts. The ground is very saturated. We're already seeing some impacts from some light amounts," National Weather Service forecaster Eleanor Dhuyvetter said. A tornado briefly touched down in Tuolumne County during severe thunderstorms Saturday that also dumped an i

Steady rains set off mudslides, killing at least 36 in southern Peru

Landslides triggered by steady rains swept mud, water and rocks into several villages in southern Peru, killing at least 36 people, authorities said on Monday. Wilson Gutierrez, a civil defense official in the Mariano Nicolas Valcarcel municipality in Camana province, told local radio RPP that 36 bodies had been recovered in a remote sector called Miski. Among the dead were five people who were riding in a van that was pushed into a river by a surge of mud. Local officials appealed for heavy machinery to be sent in to clear debris blocking three kilometers (nearly two miles) of an important road. Civil defence officials said an estimated 630 homes were unusable after the landslides, which also hit bridges, irrigation canals and roads. Constant rains are frequent in February in Peru and often cause deadly landslides.

Rains in Delhi, maximum temperature dips to 5 degrees below normal: IMD

Light showers in the national capital further intensified cold conditions on Sunday taking the maximum temperature to 17.2 degrees Celsius, five notches below the average for the season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in the city settled at 6.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the average for the season. The relative humidity oscillated between 77 per cent and 95 per cent, IMD said. The national capital received 3.3 mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm, it added. The weatherman has predicted generally cloudy skies with light rain and thundershowers during the morning for Monday, adding that the minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to hover around 10 and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively. On Saturday, the minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 6.1 degrees Celsius and the maximum at 23.8 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 357 at 9 pm, according to the ministry of earth scie

Climate change adversely affected rain patterns: Union Jal Shakti Minister

Climate change has adversely affected rain patterns, leaving scanty and erratic showers that negatively impact its harvesting, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Thursday. Speaking at the 1st All India Annual States' Ministers Conference on 'Water Vision24/7' here, Shekhawat also said rapid urbanisation, increased demand and water pollution had reduced per capita availability of water from 5000 cm to 1500 cm, which would further reduce to 1200cm by 2047. "Climate change has changed rainfall patterns with scanty and erratic showers, which has and continues to negatively impact this harvestable component. By 2047, our requirement is likely to surpass availability of water and this is the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted this conference should be held with all states to chalk out a roadmap to ensure preparedness and contingency planning," the minister said. "India's water availability of 4,000 BCM (billion cubic meters) through rain, glaciers or

Philippine rain, flooding on Christmas cause at least 25 deaths, damage

The death toll from heavy rains and floods that devastated parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend has risen to 25, with 26 others still missing, the national disaster response agency said Wednesday. Nearly 400,000 people were affected, with over 81,000 still in shelters and nine others injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Sixteen of the 25 deaths were reported in Northern Mindanao region in the south, while 12 of the 26 missing are from the eastern Bicol region, the council added. A shear line the point where warm and cold air meet triggered rains in parts of eastern, central and southern Philippines, the state weather bureau PAGASA said. The weather disturbance disrupted Christmas celebration in affected provinces, with photos from the southern province of Misamis Occidental showing rescuers carrying an elderly woman on a plastic chair as they waded through a flooded street. Some residents in the province were seen hanging on to

Sugar production may see marginal fall in 2022-23 on extended rains

Industry players said the prime reason for a slight drop in output is due to the fact that the sugarcane crushing season started late

India's poultry industry seeks corn export curb to calm local prices

Domestic corn prices have surged, driven by high demand, increased exports and some damage to the crop following heavy post-monsoon rains

Rain to lash Karnataka till Dec 16, yellow alert in three districts

Though Cyclone 'Mandous' has weakened in the neighbouring states, the IMD issued a yellow alert for Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Shivamogga districts

Low pressure area likely over Bay of Bengal, rains to resume in Tamil Nadu

A low pressure area is likely to form over Bay of Bengal soon and rainfall is expected to resume in Tamil Nadu from November 20, the India Meteorological Department said on Wednesday. A cyclonic circulation lies over south Andaman sea and neighbourhood in middle tropospheric levels, the IMD said in a bulletin. "Under its influence, a Low pressure area is likely to form over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Andaman sea during next 24 hours. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and gradually concentrate into a depression over central parts of south Bay of Bengal during subsequent 48 hours." Hence, heavy rainfall is very likely at isolated places over coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal from November 20. Rajapalayam (12 CM) in Virudhunagar district and Ayakudi and Sivagiri (9 and 7 CM respetively) in Tenkasi district received heavy rainfall, during the 24-hour period that ended on November 16 morning. The northeast monsoon (October-December) has been active in Tamil

Delhi's October rainfall was three times more than August, says IMD

The current rains in Delhi are not monsoon showers, which receded from the city on September 29 after giving 516.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 653.6 mm

Delhi records second-highest rainfall of 74 mm in a day after 15 years

Delhi, with 74 mm of rainfall till 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, has recorded its second highest precipitation on a day in October since 2007, according to the India Meteorological Department data

Surge in retreating rains may hit harvest for UP, Haryana farmers

On September 25, according to the IMD, western Uttar Pradesh received around 29.7 mm of rain, 889 per cent more than the normal for the day