Is India ready to meet extreme weather challenge? IMD D-G Mrutyunjay Mohapatra explains
The heavy rain in Maharashtra over the last few days, which has claimed close to 200 lives, has reinforced a recent trend in India. Starting with the Uttarakhand disaster of 2013, there has been an extreme rainfall event every year. This has resulted in floods in Jammu and Kashmir, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and several other parts of the country.
The increase in frequency, and intensity, of such extreme events is considered to be an impact of changing climate patterns — across the globe as well as over the Indian region.
The rapid rise in the number of extreme weather events, mostly induced by way of climate change, has underlined the need and importance of timely and accurate forecasts for a variety of weather phenomena. In the last few years, there has been tremendous improvement in prediction of cyclones and heat waves, due to which thousands of lives have been saved. But effective forecast of events such as cloudburst, or urban flooding, remain a challenge.
Climate change introduces fresh uncertainties in weather forecasting.
Some parts of Haryana and Punjab witnessed rainfall on Sunday, the MeT Department said. Hisar, Karnal and Rohtak in Haryana, and Patiala in Punjab received 22 mm, 32 mm, 0.4 mm and 7 mm rain, respectively.
According to the weather office, Ambala in Haryana recorded a maximum temperature of 32.9 degrees Celsius, while Hisar registered a high of 32.2 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Rohtak settled at 31.7 degrees Celsius while Bhiwani also registered a high of 31.7 degrees Celsius. (PTI)
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Light to moderate rains occurred at many places in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, while very heavy rainfall was recorded at isolated places over eastern part of the state. Rainfall was recorded in Sonbhadra, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Mahoba and Pratapgarh, the MeT Department said. Banda was the hottest place in the state, where mercury touched 36.2 degrees Celsius. (PTI)
Some 300 people from Tyonthar area of Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh had to be moved to safety on Sunday after incessant rains caused flooding, officials said.
Rewa Superintendent of Police Rakesh Singh confirmed the development and said water had started receding in some places after the rains stopped for some time.
In Satna district, one man was missing and another rescued while crossing a bridge over a water body in a tractor amid heavy rains in Patora village under Kotar police station limits, Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh told PTI.
Vijay Parihar (18) had been rescued while Atul Mishra (23) was missing, he informed.
The SP said a road connecting Birsinghpur in Satna to Semaria in Rewa had to be shut for traffic after water from Mau river started flowing above the bridges in the vicinity.
Sub-inspector Raj Singh Rawat of Bhopal-based MP Police state situation room said a village in Chitrakoot in Satna district was flooded and evacuation work was underway. As at 7:40pm, no loss of life had been reported from any part of the state due to the rains, Sub Inspector Rawat said. (PTI)
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said that Satara and Parbhani districts of Maharashtra have received 70 per cent more rainfall than normal till July 31 this year. However, Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra has recorded less than average rainfall till now, H S Hosalikar, senior scientist at the IMD, Pune, said in a tweet.
Satara district, which is located in western Maharashtra, recently witnessed torrential rains that led to landslides at multiple locations, in which several persons died. Meanwhile, the IMD predicted that light to moderate spells of rain are likely at isolated places in Goa with winds of 40 km per hour. (PTI)
Scenes from around Delhi as streets are left waterlogged after heavy rains
Normal life was hit in many parts of Rajasthan due to heavy rains which inundated several low-lying areas of the state.
The Meteorological Department issued a 'red alert', warning of torrential rains in some parts of the state on Monday.
It said 240 mm rainfall, the highest in the state, was recorded at Makrana in Nagaur from Saturday to Sunday morning, while Hurda in Bhilwara recorded 215 mm rains.
Many other areas in Nagaur, Tonk, Jaipur, Bhilwara and Ajmer also recorded heavy to very heavy rains during this period.
Sawaimadhopur, Vanasthali (Tonk), Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Kota and Dabok also recorded 38 mm, 27 mm, 23 mm, 16.2 mm, 7 mm and 6.2 mm rains till Sunday evening, according to the weather department.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Sunday said he has requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to designate a central team to assess damages inflicted by the floods in at least 13 districts in the state so far.
“I have written to the (Union) Home Minister to send a central team to Karnataka to assess the damages caused by the floods for the last few days,” Bommai said after reviewing the situation across the state on Sunday.
After a meeting held with senior officials from across areas affected by the floods, Bommai said, “While 466 villages have been affected so far, 13 people have died and one person is missing,” he announced. Read full report here
A plan to resettle 60 families affected by the devastating July 22 landslide in Taliye in Raigad's Mahad taluka. which killed over 80, is ready, Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde said on Sunday.
Shinde, who is leading a team from Thane district for relief work following several rain-related incidents in the area, also said Rs 50 lakh would be given for the repair of the Mahad sessions court building where flood water entered. (PTI)
The India Meteorological Department on Sunday issued a 'red alert' for 10 districts in Madhya Pradesh, forecasting very heavy to extremely heavy rains over the next 24 hours.
Showers ranging from 115.6 mm to 204.5 mm or above along with thunderstorms and lightning are very likely at isolated places in Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashok Nagar, Datia, Sheopur, Morena, Bhind, Neemuch and Mandsaur, said P K Saha, senior meteorologist at the IMD's Bhopal office.
The IMD also sounded an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy showers till Monday morning in 16 other districts - Bhopal, Rewa, Sidhi, Satna, Singrauli, Sagar, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Panna, Tikamgarh, Raisen, Rajgarh, Sehore, Vidisha, Agar-Malwa.
Saha said isolated places in these districts could receive rainfall in the range of 64.5 mm to 204.4 mm along with thunderstorm and lightning. (PTI)
After its vigorous revival in the first week of July that saw floods, cloudburst and landslides in several parts of the country, the Southwest Monsoon ended with a seven per cent deficit for the month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.
The rainfall in July was minus seven per cent which comes to around 93 per cent of the Long Period Average, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
Rainfall in the range of 96-104 is normal whereas precipitation in the range of 90-96 is classified as below normal. July recorded extremely heavy rainfall over coastal and central Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka.
Several towns and cities in Maharashtra were deluged to very heavy rainfall which resulted in catastrophic events like landslides claiming scores of lives and damaging property. The north Indian states -- Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh -- also saw cloudburst events that claimed several lives. (PTI)
July was meteorologically peculiar for Delhi as it witnessed five heatwave days, the maximum since 2012, an unusual two-week-delayed monsoon, and rainfall that broke records of nearly two decades.
The month started with the national capital recording three heatwave days on the trot -- July 1, July 2 and July 3. The mean maximum temperature for July was 36.5 degrees Celsius against the long-period average of 35.5 degrees Celsius.
The weather office had a hard time accurately predicting when the monsoon would reach the capital and came under sharp criticism when the wind system repetitively gave Delhi a miss despite favourable conditions.
Despite the monsoon embracing Delhi only on July 13, making it the most-delayed in 19 years, the capital recorded 16 rainy days in the month, the maximum in the last four years. Three rainy days were recorded before the monsoon reached the city, according to India Meteorological Department data. (PTI)
Six people were killed and four others injured in two incidents of house collapse due to heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa and Singrauli districts on Sunday, officials said. In Rewa, a 35-year-old man, his 60-year-old mother and two daughters, aged 7 and 8 years, were killed when their mud house collapsed in the morning, police officials said.
Rewa Collector Ilayaraja T said the incident took place in Ghuchiyari Bahera village under Garh police station area, about 50 km from the district headquarters. Another minor daughter of the man received injuries and she was admitted to Gangev Hospital, he said.
Eyewitnesses claimed the administration team could not reach the spot in time due to lack of a proper road connecting the village. A motorable road is about three km away from the village, they said. (PTI)
As rains continued to lash Delhi, extensive waterlogging and traffic snarls were reported at several places in the city on Sunday. The Safdarjung Observatory, considered the official marker for Delhi, recorded 28.2 mm rainfall, while the Ridge station registered 28.6 mm rainfall from 8.30 am on Saturday to 8.30 am on Sunday, officials said.
According to the Public Works Department, Yamuna Bazar, Khanpur, Rohtak Road, Lodhi Road, Azadpur underpass, Zakhira underpass, Shakti Nagar underpass, Kirari, Sagarpur, among others witnessed severe waterlogging. PWD officials said nearly 20-30 waterlogging complaints were received in the morning. The officials said the workers are on the ground and waterlogging-related complaints are being attended on priority.
Police said they received waterlogging-related complaints after 8 am from the underpass of Patparganj Road, located near Mother Dairy, Yamuna Vihar, Malka Ganj, near Tis Hazari and Kashmiri Gate metro stations, Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg, Munirka and Nangloi, etc. A portion of a road caved in at Mangolpuri following downpour, affecting traffic movement in the area. (PTI)
Light rain would occur over North-West Delhi, West Delhi, South-West Delhi, South Delhi, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Nuh (Haryana), states IMD.
Life has come to a screeching halt in parts of Paschim Medinipur and Howrah districts, where additional water discharge from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams followed by heavy rain has inundated streets and flooded villages.
At least 212 relief camps have been set up in Paschim Medinipur, offering shelter to over 12,000 people as water having breached embankments entered their homes, officials said. A local TMC office in Ghatal was washed away by a gushing stream of water, they said.
In Howrah, vast stretches of Udaynarayanpur and Amta, including medical facilities, lay submerged with the NDRF and the SDRF carrying out relief operations on war-footing. Several arterial roads including the Udayanarayanpur-Tarakeswar stretch have gone under water, virtually cutting off link between Howrah and Hooghly districts. (PTI)
Maharashtra Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis wrote a letter Sunday to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray recommending short and long-term measures to tackle the floods in the state.
Urging Thackeray to convene an all-party meeting to deliberate on the grave situation which has left lakhs of people devastated, Fadnavis listed certain recommendations based on his tour of the flood-hit areas.
The Opposition leader emphasised the need for a disaster management cell in the Konkan region which has borne the brunt of repeated natural calamities including cyclones and said, “A permanent Konkan Disaster Management Unit, which is adequately equipped with manpower, is must.” In the last one year, the coastal region has thrice been hit by cyclones or floods leaving people vulnerable.
Light to moderate rain occurred at many places in Uttar Pradesh with Lakhimpur Kheri recording the highest maximum temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius. Rainfall was recorded in Chitrakoot, Etawah, Etah, Auraiya, Firozabad, Sonbhadra, Agra and Lalitpur districts.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted bouts of rainfall at isolated places in Haryana on Sunday.
On Saturday,widespread rainfall was recorded in eastern parts of Rajasthan inundating roads in many places and washing out railway tracks Gudha and Govindi Marwar station in Jodhpur division.
A few places in Nagaur, Baran, Jaipur, Sawaimadhopur, Karauli, Sikar, Alwar, Jhunjhunu and Churu districts have recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall till Saturday morning. A maximum of 304 mm rainfall was recorded in Baran, followed by Niwai in Tonk where 192 mm of rains were recorded.
Several roads were inundated in Jaipur, Dausa, Tonk, Sawaimadhopur, Karauli, Dholpur and Baran.
The Current spell of fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity will continue over rest parts of North India with isolated heavy falls over Punjab on Sunday, Himachal Pradesh during the next 48 hours and Uttrakhand and Haryana during the next 3 days.
The MET department on Sunday predicted Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall likely over West Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh today and tomorrow over East Uttar Pradesh, West Rajasthan and Haryana in the next 24 hours.
Following morning showers, three underpasses in Delhi were waterlogged on Sunday. The Delhi Traffic police asked commuters to avoid Zakhira Underpass, Azadpur underpass and Shakti Nagar underpass temporarily.
The Delhi Traffic police alert on Sunday morning on Twitter read, “Traffic is affected in Zakhira underpass, Azadpur underpass and Shakti Nagar underpass due to water-logging. Inconvenience is regretted.”
With the first half of this year’s southwest monsoon over, the all-India rainfall was recorded just 1 per cent below normal of the Long Period Average (LPA). Till Saturday, the all-India rainfall recorded was 449mm against normal 452.3mm.
However, the country has recorded 93 per cent of the LPA — 6.3 per cent below normal. This, despite many states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh reporting some extremely heavy rain events in July causing massive flooding and landslides.
Early monsoon onset over many parts coupled with spatially well-distributed rain during June ensured a good start for July. However, a delayed arrival over north India, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and parts of Rajasthan is one of the main reasons for the country-wide deficit, especially in July. (With Anjali Marar)
Weak monsoon conditions continue over southern peninsula on Sunday and normal monsoon conditions over the northern parts of the country, IMD said in its latest bulletin.
The eastern end of the monsoon trough is likely to shift north of its normal position from tomorrow. However, its western part is very likely to remain to the south of its normal position and active during next 4-5 days, the MET department said in its latest bulletin.
As monsoon remains active in the northern parts of the country intense rainfall activity has been predicted for the next few days in parts of north and central India.
Heavy showers in eastern Rajasthan inundated roads and washed out rail tracks in Jodhpur division and light to moderate rains drenched the neighbouring states.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for parts of Rajasthan, as more heavy rainfall is predicted in the next 24 hours.
Delhi has been witnessing consistent moderate rain since Sunday morning, bring down mercury levels. The national capital has also been issued a yellow, where moderate rains on Saturday could lead to possible waterlogging and major traffic disruptions along with an orange alert for Monday.
Delhi received an average of 43.6 mm of rain till 8.30 am on Saturday as the mercury reached a high of 34.4 degrees Celsius. Due to heavy rains in the last few days, a portion of a road under the IIT-Delhi flyover caved in disrupting traffic.
A well marked low pressure area lies over northwest Jharkhand and adjoining Bihar and associated cyclonic circulation extends upto 7.6 km above mean sea level. It is likely to move west-northwestwards across south Bihar and southern parts of Uttar Pradesh during next 2 days. Under its influence, heavy rainfall will be witnessed in these areas.
Today, the MET department has predicted widespread heavy rainfall in Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Rainfall will continue in UP, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as well. Heavy rainfall will continue in Rajasthan, and Delhi.