Weather update today: Cyclone Asna likely to weaken into deep depression, IMD predicts heavy rain in Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat

For Sunday, extremely heavy rainfall is likely over parts of Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Heavy rain is expected over parts of Chhattisgarh, Goa, northeastern states, and Odisha.

A vegetable vendor wades through a water logged street after heavy rainfall at Anil Nagar, in Guwahati, Sunday. (PTI)

The cyclonic storm ‘Asna’ on Sunday lay centered over the northwest Arabian Sea near the west of Gujarat early Sunday morning and is likely to move further and gradually weaken into a deep depression by evening today and into a depression by Monday morning.

Meanwhile, a depression lay over south Odisha, and north Andhra Pradesh and is likely to move west-northwestwards across south Odisha, and south Chhattisgarh and weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area in the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department said.

Weather forecast

The weather department has forecast light or moderate rainfall over coastal Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Mahe, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry during the week. For Sunday, extremely heavy rainfall is likely over parts of Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Heavy rain is expected over parts of Chhattisgarh, Goa, northeastern states, and Odisha.

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Above normal rainfall likely in Sept

Meanwhile, climatologically the southwest monsoon commences to retreat around September 15, however, the weather department has not yet declared the dates of monsoon withdrawal. Entire India recorded below-normal rain during this season. For the whole of the month, the IMD has predicted above-normal rainfall. On Saturday, the weather department said the country will receive 109 per cent of the long-period average, which is 167.9mm (1971-2020 data).

“Above normal rainfall is forecast over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, along the west coastal areas, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. There are chances of landslides and mudslides, precautions must be taken,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general, of IMD.

Warmest ever August

On the other hand, August was the warmest India ever recorded since 1901. The all-India average monthly minimum temperature surged to a record of 24.29 degrees Celsius for August. The normal is 23.68 degrees Celsius. In August, several weather factors at local, regional and global levels kept the southwest monsoon active for several days. There were six low-pressure systems, one of which intensified into cyclone Asna in the Arabian Sea on August 30.

“As good rainfall activity was recorded during August, the persistent cloudy conditions pushed the minimum temperatures above normal. That is why, most areas of the country, particularly the central India region, recorded higher than average minimum temperatures,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general, of IMD.

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27 killed in Gujarat

The death toll in flood-hit Gujarat rose to 36 on Saturday with one more death reported from Jamnagar. In seven districts of Saurashtra and Kutch, as many as 27 people were killed in flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall.

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