While advising people to remain indoors during the hot parts of the day, the IMD guidelines suggest people cover their head with umbrellas or caps while stepping out in the heat. (Express File/Vishal Srivastava)Weather News Highlights: Heatwave and sultry conditions have returned to New Delhi, with temperatures soaring to 45 degrees on Thursday. The weather department has issued a ‘yellow’ alert, warning of a heatwave, in most parts of Delhi on Friday and Saturday. The mercury is predicted to touch the 45-degree Celsius mark again on Sunday. Temperatures may leap to 46-47 degrees Celsius at isolated places, weather experts have said.
Most parts in the north continue to experience high temperatures. The maximum temperature touched 48 degrees in parts of Rajasthan on Thursday. At least 29 cities across the state, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra reported temperatures in excess of 44 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon is set to arrive early with Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected to receive the first showers on May 15, the India Meteorological Department has said. The weather office has also predicted an early monsoon onset in Kerala and its subsequent northward movement. Due to the ongoing conditions, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kerala will witness heavy rainfall in the next five days. Rainfall is also predicted over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal in the next 48 hours. In the northeast, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya will see extremely heavy showers till May 17.
High waves crash on Vizhinjam fishing harbour owing to Cyclone Asani, in Thiruvananthapuram. (PTI)
The monsoon this year is likely to be normal and the National Disaster Response Force is planning per-monsoon deployment in flood-prone areas in consultation with state governments, according to an official statement.
This was conveyed at a review meeting on the pre-monsoon and monsoon situation convened by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) here on Friday, the statement said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that the forecast of the south-west monsoon 2022 is likely to be normal, it said. The NDRF in consultation with the states and Union Territories has already planned for pre-monsoon deployment for most vulnerable areas with respect to flooding, the statement said.
The NDMA held the meeting as a follow up to the review of the heatwave and monsoon preparedness meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 5. Based on the recommendations of the prime minister, adoption of the concept of decision support system with integrated flood early warning system was discussed at the Friday's meeting, the statement said. (PTI)
Streets in many places in western Rajasthan bear a deserted look during much of the day as if a lockdown is in place, with people keeping indoors due to the heatwave. On Thursday, Barmer recorded the highest day temperature of 48.2 degree Celsius while the mercury soared to 47.2 in Jaisalmer.
Barmer recorded the day temperature of 47.8 degree Celsius on Friday. Ganganagar in northern Rajasthan was the hottest place on Friday with the mercury touching 48.1 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, dust storms coupled with heatwave in rural areas of western Rajasthan have disrupted the routine life.
'The heat is unbearable. As the day progresses, conditions become tougher and it becomes a challenge to go out in the afternoon,' Sunil Kumar, a trader in Barmer, told PTI. He said the sale of ACs and coolers has suddenly shot up and customers visit either in the morning hours or in late evening hours to avoid heatstroke.
The heatwave persists till late in the night and before sleeping on the roof, people sprinkle water to reduce the impact of the heat. Generally, people used to take bath in the evening but due to the scorching sun, water of the tanks kept on the roof turns too hot to use. (PTI)
The southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 27, well ahead of its normal date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Friday (May 13). If the forecast turns out to be accurate, this will be the earliest onset of the monsoon over Kerala since at least 2009. There can be “a model error of four days on either side”, the IMD said.
What does the “onset of monsoon” mean?
The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month, June-September southwest monsoon season over India, which brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. The onset of the monsoon is a significant day in India’s economic calendar. Anjali Marar writes..
According to the IMD, Southwest Monsoon likely to advance into South Andaman Sea & adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal around 15th May, 2022. There will be:
The onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala is expected on May 27, nearly four days in advance of its normal date, June 1.
If realised, it will be the first time since 2010 that the monsoon has arrived over the southern state as early as May 27, as per the onset dates data maintained by the India Meteorological Department.
In its bulletin on the monsoon onset released on Friday, the IMD said, “This year, the onset of the southwest monsoon is likely to be earlier than the normal date of onset. The monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on May 27 with a model error of four days on either side.” Read More
Continous rains since Thursday night in Rukmini Gaon area of Guwahati has caused waterlogging.
The Southwest Monsoon is set to arrive early with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected to receive first seasonal showers on May 15, the weather office said on Thursday. "Southwest Monsoon is likely to advance into South Andaman Sea & adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal around 15th May, 2022," the India Meteorological Department said in a statement here.
"Normally, monsoon advances over Nicobar Islands on May 15 and covers Mayabunder, the extreme north point in the Andaman islands by May 22," India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told PTI.
Most parts of north India experienced scorching summers with maximum temperatures touching 48 degrees Celsius in Barmer in Rajasthan on Thursday. At least 29 cities across Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra reported temperatures in excess of 44 degrees Celsius.
Barmer was the hottest with a maximum temperature of 48.1 degrees, followed by Ganganagar (47.3), Bikaner and Jaisalmer (47.2), Churu (46.9), Kota (46.7), Khargone (46.4), Rajgarh and Jodhpur (46).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert, warning of a heatwave at most places in the capital on Friday and Saturday. An orange alert has been issued to caution people about a severe heatwave on Sunday.
Heatwave conditions in parts of Delhi saw temperatures soaring to 44-45 degrees Celsius on Thursday as moisture-carrying easterly winds made way for hot and dry westerlies.
The mercury is predicted to touch the 45-degree mark at the Safdarjung Observatory on Sunday. Temperatures may leap to 46-47 degrees Celsius at isolated places, weather experts said. A heatwave spell was predicted over Delhi from Sunday, but easterly winds prevailing in the national capital under the impact of Cyclone Asani shielded the city against it.
Due to the last effects of Cyclone Asani, sea conditions are likely to be "rough to very rough" over westcentral and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours and improve thereafter, the IMD said on Thursday. Fishing operations have been totally suspended over westcentral Bay of Bengal and northwest Bay of Bengal for the next 12 hours.
Cyclone Asani, which had turned into a deep depression over coastal Andhra Pradesh, has further weakened to a depression, the IMD said on Thursday, forecasting light to moderate rain in some districts of Odisha and West Bengal. The weather system remained practically stationary during the last six hours and weakened to a depression, and is likely to turn into a well-marked low pressure area during the next 12 hours, it said in a bulletin.