Weather forecast report HIGHLIGHTS: Rains are expected to continue in Delhi on Thursday.
Weather forecast Today India HIGHLIGHTS: Rains continued to lash parts of Delhi-NCR on Wednesday night, bringing much-needed relief from the dry spell in the region. Light rains are expected to continue on Thursday, the Indian Meteorological Department said, adding that the monsoon thereafter will turn weak in the plains of northwest India, resulting in a dry spell from July 20 to 23.
Mumbai, on the other hand, is expected to register light showers for the next four to five days. In Kerala, the weatherman has issued a red alert in six districts, including Idukki and Malappuram, and forecast extremely heavy rains in the coming days. The red alert means that authorities need to take immediate action.
In Bihar, the death toll due to floods reached 30 on Tuesday with five girls drowning in a pond in Sheohar district. However, the disaster management department has pegged the toll at 25 as it has not included the incident of drowning as a flood-related death in official figures. Twelve districts are affected by the floods with Sitamarhi, Madhubani, and Araria being the worst-hit.
A man wades through flood waters in Assam. (Express photo/Tora Agarwala)
Fresh rain in Delhi on Thursday brought down the temperatures and pollution levels.
The Army was called in Punjab's Sangrur district after a 50-foot breach in the Ghaggar river which inundated over 2,000 acres of agricultural field. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had, on Wednesday, asked deputy commissioners of the districts affected by heavy rain to remain alert and prepared them to deal with emergencies.
The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert in Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts of Kerala. These districts are likely to receive extremely heavy rain between July 18 and July 20. The red alert has been sounded since the southwest monsoon is expected to intensify over the next few days. It is a call to take preventive steps to evacuate people from vulnerable areas to shelter camps.
The water level in Kolakhowa Gozal village in Dibrugarh, Assam after the rain stopped.
The main water pipeline in Madurai's Kochadai area burst today, causing waterlogging on the road.
The Underpass Railway Bridge in Prahladpur area in Tughlakabad was waterlogged after heavy rainfall.
Waterlogging in front of Mangaluru Central Railway Station after heavy rainfall in the city
As per data collected from the IMD station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala has recorded a 48% deficiency in this year's southwest monsoon till July 18. Yet, in indications that the monsoon will gather strength over the next few days, the IMD has issued a level-red rain alert in five of the 14 districts in the state. Level-red rain warning is a call to the state's disaster management authority to immediately take preventive steps to evacuate people from vulnerable areas to shelter camps and provide others with emergency kits. Read more here
In Assam, the National Disaster Response Force provides medical assistance in flood-affected Morigaon district.
A red alert has been sounded in Kerala’s six districts, including Idukki and Malappuram, from July 18 as the IMD forecast extremely heavy rains in the coming days for the southern state. The red alert, denoting likelihood of very heavy to extremely heavy rain, has been issued in Idukki, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts on different days from July 18-20. The red alert also means that authorities need to take immediate action. Extremely heavy rains– over 204 mm rain in 24 hours have been predicted, the weatherman said.
The Brahmaputra is flowing above its danger mark in Guwahati, at Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri towns, and at Badarpurghat in Karimganj. See photos here.
Shrikhand Mahadev Yatra resumed from Sinhgad Thursday morning, a day after it was suspended when a part of a glacier collapsed in Kullu district, the police said. Registration of pilgrims resumed at base camp in Sinhgad, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said. Movement of pilgrims has initially been allowed up to Parvati Bagh, he said, adding that they will hopefully soon be allowed to go to the shrine after considering the weather.
Till 17 July, approximately 57, 51,938 people in 4,626 villages in 29 districts have been affected due to the flood. At least 427 relief camps are operational across the state. At least 28 people have lost their lives due to flood.
Heavy rain lashes Mangaluru in Karnataka.
Farmers in Maharashtra are increasingly opting for short-duration crops such as jowar and maize, prompted by uncertainty about rains. While sowing has picked up in the state, the dry phase has left farmers worried, with fears of having to resow their crops looming large. Data from the state agricultural department show a steady rise in the sowing of maize, bajra and sunflower. Sowing in almost all pulses, oilseeds, food grains and sugarcane has reported a dip. As of July 12, the biggest year-on-year dip has been noticed in the case of sugarcane, with sowing reported on 28,118 hectares as against last year’s 35,903 hectares. Click here to read more.
The Safdarjung observatory, recording of which is considered official for the city, received 12.1 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. Palam, Ayanagar, Ridge and Lodhi Road observatories recorded 61 mm, 38.8 mm, 18.2 mm, and 18 mm of rainfall, respectively. Relative humidity was 93 per cent at 8.30 am.
Overnight showers brought down the minimum temperature three notches below the season's average to 23.5 degree Celsius on Thursday morning with more rainfall likely in rest of the day, PTI reported. All parts of the city received rain in the past 24 hours. Early morning showers slowed down vehicular traffic on many stretches with waterlogging reported from some low lying areas. The city received 12.1 mm rain in the past 24 hours, till 8.30 am. The day will remain generally cloudy and moderate rain is expected, said a MeT department officer.
Daily showers have not only made this the wettest July in the Tricity since 2010 but have also cooled the temperatures, with the mercury hovering between a high of 40 degree Celsius and a low of 23 degree Celsius. This month saw the temperature go from a blistering 40.5 degree Celsius on July 2 to a pleasantly cool 23 degree on July 16. The temperature difference recorded in July last year was 37.7 degree Celsius on 9th with the lowest being 23 degree Celsius on 4th. 2017 saw the highest temperature of 37.6 degree Celsius on 10th and lowest on 6th and 12th of 24.7 degree Celsius.
On Tuesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the government would compensate people for the loss of crops and livestock. The CM had conducted aerial surveys of flood-affected areas on three days. He said while flash floods had inundated some parts of Bihar, several other districts might face drought because of inadequate rains. The Opposition RJD, however, said that flood relief and rescue operations need to be scaled up. RJD spokesperson Bhai Birendra told The Indian Express, “What the government announced in the Assembly has not reached the ground. Twenty-six teams of NDRF and SDRF are grossly inadequate when over 48 lakh people are affected by floods. Thousands of people have not got basic food items like rice and jaggery. All the government’s claims are on paper.” RJD leader and former CM Rabri Devi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the floods as a national disaster.
The toll in the Bihar floods rose to 67 on Wednesday with over 48 lakh people being affected in 12 districts across the state. The highest number of casualties were reported from Sitamarhi with 17 deaths, followed by Araria (12), Madhubani (11), Sheohar (9), Purnea (7) Darbhanga (5), Kishanganj (4) and Supaul (2). A total of 831 panchayats in 92 blocks were affected by flash floods caused by additional water discharge from Nepal. Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management Department, said, “About 1.15 lakh people have been living in relief camps. We are also running 1,116 community kitchens in flood-affected areas. Twenty-six teams of NDRF and SDRF have been in operation”.
The intensity of rains in Telangana is expected to increase around July 23, wherein a fresh weather system will approach the state and start giving moderate to heavy rains. These activities will continue until July 26 or 27, Skymet Weather reported.
In Telangana, a significant change is expected in the weather after 24 hours. According to Skymet Weather, a Cyclonic Circulation has formed over the west-central Bay of Bengal. This system will further move inland and start giving good rains over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Coastal Odisha and gradually over Telangana. Thus, light to moderate rains are likely in parts of Telangana after 24 hours. Some heavy spells also stand a chance this time.
After 48 hours, Skymet Weather reported, the monsoon trough will start shifting northwards once again, thus leading to an increase in the rainfall activities over northern parts of Punjab, Haryana and Northwest Uttar Pradesh. However, this will lead to a reduction in the monsoon rains over Delhi and NCR area.
According to Skymet Weather, at present, the Monsoon Trough is passing via the National Capital Territory. In the wake of this system, rainfall activities have increased and are expected to continue for another 24 to 48 hours. During this period, chances of a few intense spells of Monsoon showers cannot be ruled out. The rains will help in keeping the weather pleasant along with cloudy to overcast sky. Also, these showers will keep a check on the temperatures.
Twenty per cent of the area under vegetables in Punjab has been affected due to excessive rainfall in various parts of the state, particularly in Malwa region. The area under vegetables is 2.23 lakh hectares this year. Shailendar Kaur, Director Horticulture, Punjab told The Indian Express, “It rained heavily Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Ferozepur, and as per the field reports, nearly 20 per cent of the total area under vegetables and fruits has been affected.” Retailers have increased prices of all vegetables irrespective of the fact that the vegetables with them had already been purchased at low prices. Vegetable fields were submerged under over 3 ft water.
Delhi has recorded 77.6 mm rains from July 1 to July 17, which is 25 per cent less than the 30-year average of 103.2 mm, officials said.
Overall, it has received 88.8 mm precipitation against the long-term average of 168.7 mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts -- a deficiency of 47 per cent, according to IMD data.
Parts of Delhi received rainfall this morning.
According to the IMD, moderate rain is expected in Delhi today. Chandigarh is also likely to register one or two spells of thundershowers.
In Uttar Pradesh, three children of a family were killed on Wednesday morning when the roof of their house collapsed in Muzaffarnagar's Bilaspur village, police said. Three other members of the family were seriously injured, they added. The family was watching TV together when the incident took place.
Rains continued to lash parts of Delhi-NCR on Wednesday night, bringing much-needed relief from the dry spell in the region. Light rains are expected to continue today, the Indian Meteorological Department said, adding that the monsoon thereafter will turn weak in the plains of northwest India, resulting in a dry spell from July 20 to 23. In Kerala, the weatherman has issued a red alert in six districts, including Idukki and Malappuram, and forecast extremely heavy rains in the coming days. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates.