Among oilseeds, on account of decline in area and productivity in Gujarat state, total production of groundnut in the country has suffered considerably and declined to 5.02 million tonnes as compared to its record production of 7.81 million tonnes during 2013-2014 year. Gujarat is the major groundnut producing state.
United states Department of Agriculture (USDA) has lowered India's rice production estimates to around 100 million tons (MT) for 2014-15 marketing year (Oct-Sep), declined about 6% from an estimated 106.54 million tons (MT) in MY 2013-14 and down about 3% from USDA's official estimate of around 103 million tons (MT).
Wheat sowing for the next year's harvest is under way in western Europe and farmers are benefitting from favorable weather conditions in top producing countries France, Germany and Britain, according to the commodity analysts. Initial estimates suggest the area sown with wheat crop could stay close to the last season's level.
Super Typhoon Vongfong on Tuesday graduated itself into the strongest tropical cyclone of 2014 after intensifying rapidly overnight Monday.
The eye of Vongfong was just over 600 miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan on Wednesday, moving west-northwest at about 10 mph.
According to Joint Typhoon Warning Center, USA, maximum sustained winds had skyrocketed to an estimated 180 mph, which is equivalent of a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. These are rated as the highest winds of any tropical cyclone since Super Typhoon Haiyan's 195 mph winds of November 7, 2013. With this, Vongfong has become the fifth super typhoon of 2014.
As reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Vongfong has now surpassed Genevieve for the most intense western Pacific typhoon of 2014 by estimated central pressure of 900 millibars. Vongfong is the third "violent typhoon" of 2014 on the JMA typhoon intensity scale, followed by Genevieve and Halong.
Vongfong has intensified explosively due to low vertical wind shear, impressive outflow, and warm western Pacific water. It has easily surpassed the 157-mph threshold required to reach Category 5 equivalent status.
Vongfong might strengthen a bit more, but for all intents and purposes are already near its peak intensity.
Like in the case of Typhoon Phanfone, Vongfong will also turn north in the next day or so, as it rounds the western edge of the subtropical steering high. However, a second, temporary blocking high pressure system aloft may deflect Vongfong slightly to the west on Friday through Sunday.
It is a kind of displeasing possibility, as it could bring the core of Vongfong's strongest winds quite closer to Ryukyu Islands by this weekend.
Vongfong is expected to weaken once it begins moving north this week. However it should still be a formidable typhoon when it draws close to Japan by this weekend into early next week.
Though it is still very early to ascertain specific impacts to Japan from Vongfong but at present, it appears Vongfong will end up tracking far enough west and north to at least bring some high winds, heavy rain and storm surge flooding once again to Okinawa, Kyushu, Shikoku, and at least central and eastern Honshu on Saturday through Tuesday.
Southwest monsoon has withdrawn from Northwest and Central India and parts of Maharashtra but the retreating monsoon is giving rains over Western coast, particularly in Kerala.
Last 24 hours have witnessed scattered yet good rain showers at few places in Kerala. Kottayam received rain of 76.8 mm in the last 24 hours which was highest for the region, followed by Kochi at 68.8 mm. The rain recorded in last 24 hours was 52.8 mm for Alapuza, 48.5 mm for Trivandrum and 13 mm for Punalur and Kannur.
Such showers, light and infrequent in nature, are common before the onset of Northeast Monsoon in India. Moreover, dry spell or light rain usually precedes the arrival of Northeast Monsoon in Southern India.
During this time, temperatures too take a dip by a degree or two making the weather pleasant.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, such sustained activity indicates that the Northeast Monsoon is about to approach shortly.
Hudhud, first cyclonic storm of the season to hit the Indian coast is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm, before making landfall by the wee hours of October 11. Last year, Phailin had lashed Gopalpur in Ganjam district of Odisha, with strong winds blowing at about 200- 220 kmph at landfall. Phailin was one of the strongest tropical cyclones that ever made landfall in India and left behind a trail of destruction after making landfall on October 12, 2013.
Cyclones are caused by atmospheric disturbances around a low-pressure area and are usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather in severe cases.
The types of disturbances that form in the sea, according to their severity order, are:
The Indian subcontinent is one of the worst affected regions in the world. The subcontinent with a long coastline of 8,041 kilometers is exposed to nearly 10% of the world’s tropical cyclones.
Intensity of storms depends on various factors; sea surface temperature (SST), being a major parameter. The Indian seas end at about 25°N latitude and thus, none of the tropical storms travel beyond 25°N latitude. On the other hand, Hurricanes and Typhoons travel beyond 30°N latitude. As storms enter the cooler northern latitudes, they stand brighter chances of fizzling out due to lower temperatures.
Thus, origination of a storm also plays a role in its intensity. Warmer the sea surface temperature (SST), brighter are the chances of storms to pick up strength. Cyclones keep gathering strength while Hurricanes and Typhoons lose strength after travelling through cooler waters.
Rajasthan continues to reel under hot weather conditions, as the maximum temperatures surge closer to 40°C in the several cities. On Monday, Churu recorded 40.9°C, Barmer 38.9°C, Sikar 38.8°C, Bikaner 39.7°C, Jaisalmer 39.5°C and Jodhpur 37°C.
Maximum temperature further soared on Tuesday, where Barmer recorded 39.2°C, Sikar 39°C, Bikaner 39.5°C, Churu 39.2°C, Jaisalmer 39.2°C and Jodhpur 39°C.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon has resulted in short second summer in many parts of Rajasthan. Factors such as clear sky, absolutely no cloud cover and drop in humidity levels have led to rise in temperature. Moreover, proximity of sun to equator has given high levels of insolation and adding more to woes is the state's regional terrain, which is sandy and rocky in nature.
People of Rajasthan will have to bear the brunt of excessive heat for some more days as temperature will continue to hover around high 30s. As per the forecast by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, hot weather conditions will prevail in the state till the third week of October, before temperature starts dropping during the last week of the month.
However, nights will be relatively cooler due to the sandy terrain, which has a nature of heating up fast and cooling at the same pace, simultaneously.
Meanwhile, extreme northern parts of Rajasthan has got some respite from the heat due to the passage of western disturbance over the region. Ganganagar had observed maximum temperature of 38.7°C on Monday, which dropped to 36.7°C on Tuesday. Further drop in day temperature is expected in these parts of the state.
Northwestern state of Rajasthan is one of those pockets that receive least rainfall during the Southwest Monsoon season in the country.
The terrifying word ‘Cyclone’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘Cyclos’ meaning coil of a snake. As tropical storms in the Indian seas resemble coiled serpents of the sea, these storms were named as Cyclones. Tropical cyclones are referred to as Hurricanes over Atlantic Ocean, Typhoons over Pacific Ocean, Willy-Willies over Australian Seas and Cyclones over north Indian Ocean.
The present cyclonic storm Hudhud is likely to become a severe cyclonic storm very soon. The first storm of the season to make landfall in India could also strengthen further into a very severe cyclonic storm.
Phailin was the strongest tropical cyclone that ever made landfall in India, behind only the Odisha Cyclone which ripped through the state in 1999. Phailin had lashed Gopalpur in Ganjam district of Odisha, with strong winds blowing at about 200- 220 kmph at landfall. In its wake, Phailin brought torrential rains in Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a trail of destruction after making landfall on October 12, 2013.
Prior to 2000, there was no practice of naming tropical storms. The 1999 cyclonic storm which ripped Odisha, triggered the necessity of naming storms. The practice of naming helps in quick identification of storms because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms.
Here’s a look at the other four devastating cyclones to make landfall in India-
| Year | Category of Cyclone | Landfall | Other relevant information |
| October 25-31, 1999 | Super Cyclonic Storm | The storm crossed Odisha coast near Paradip on 29th afternoon. | The storm had attained maximum wind speed of 260 kmph. The storm had claimed around 10,000 lives and immense damage to crops and cattle heads. |
| November 5-6, 1996 | Very Severe Cyclonic Storm | Made landfall in Andhra coast near Kakinada at midnight of November 6. | With maximum wind speed of 200 kmph, the storm surged up to 4 m. |
| May 4-11, 1990 | Super Cyclonic Storm | Crossed Andhra Pradesh coast at about 40 km southwest of Machilipatnam at 1900 IST on May 9. | The storm sustained wind speed of 102 kmph near Machilipatnam and 93 kmph at Gannavaram. It had attained maximum wind speed of 235 kmph. |
| November 14-20, 1977 | Super Cyclonic Storm | Made landfall at Nizampatnam in Andhra coast at 1730 IST on November 19. | The storm has attained maximum wind speed of 260 kmph and caused immense damage to life and property. Estimated damage to crops and other property was around Rs. 350 crores. |
There is a total lunar eclipse of the full moon on October 8, from 14:44 to 18:06 hours IST. But in India it will be a partial lunar eclipse and will occur in New Delhi between 17:58 to 18:06 hours. It’s also known as Blood Moon due to its reddish colour, which is the second of four so-called Blood Moon eclipses. In North America and the Hawaiian Islands, the total lunar eclipse will be visible during the wee hours before sunrise on October 8. In New Zealand, Australia and eastern Asia, the total eclipse will be visible after sunset on October 8. A partial lunar eclipse can be visible before sunrise on October 8 in many parts of South America, and after sunset of October 8 in western Asia.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its shadow. This occurs only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a straight line exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth being in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The kind and duration of an eclipse depends upon the Moon's location and the alignment of the Sun, Earth and the Moon.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which is viewed only in a small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the dark side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only few minutes at any given place, this is because the moon's shadow is smaller. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view through the naked eye.
Lunar eclipse has no effect on weather but, during a lunar eclipse there are low tides because of moon's low gravitational force. In a lunar eclipse the moon is covered by the earth's shadow therefore, the gravitational force is not strong. The opposite happens during a solar eclipse.
A partial solar eclipse will occur on 23rd October, 2014 which incidentally is Diwali.
The depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression yesterday and has now turned into a cyclonic storm. It is currently centred around 12.5°N latitude and 92.5°E longitude, 900 km away from north Andhra and south Odisha coast near Long Island.
The cyclonic storm Hudhud will soon become a severe cyclonic storm and chances of the cyclone strengthening further into a very severe cyclonic storm is high.
Presently the cyclonic storm Hudhud is far away from the India coast therefore predicting its exact landfall would be difficult. At the moment entire coast of Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh is at threat as the storm can head towards any of these coast in next 4 days. It may even head towards Bangladesh, but chances of the cyclone making landfall between Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Gopalpur in Odisha is high.
As a result, the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha could expect clouding around the 9th of October. Just the next day, on October 10 there could be rain in the region, which may pick up in intensity by October 11.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the cyclone is likely to make landfall by 11th night or 12th morning, bringing heavy rain to coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Either side of the landfall area upto 500 km become vulnerable to intense weather activity.
However, in next 24 hours the scenario will become more clear and Skymet will be able to give you an exact picture of where the cyclone is heading. Meanwhile, Hudhud is moving at a speed of 25 kmph and is punched with speed of 55 kmph at the core gusting at 85 kmph.
It’s the post monsoon season, significantly a peak period for cyclones that are often synonymous with the arrival of Northeast monsoon in India.
On one hand, cyclones are a source of intense rain over many parts of South India, on the other, they are threatening to the east coast due to their potential of causing widespread devastation. The threat becomes active in October mainly heading towards Odisha and West Bengal. November is a time when Andhra Pradesh becomes disposed to the threats of cyclonic storms and threatening cyclones followed by Tamil Nadu in December.
Cyclonic Circulations last year
Last year, eight cyclonic circulations formed in the Bay of Bengal out of which four turned into named cyclonic storms.
Phailin (Oct 13, 2013) – Very Severe Cyclonic Storm
Helen (November 22, 2013) – Cyclonic Storm
Leher (November 28, 2013) – Deep Depression
Madi (December 10, 2013) - Depression
Reminders of Phailin
The catastrophic Phailin struck the Odisha and Andhra coast last year causing massive destruction in the region- affecting 12 million people, same time of the year, i.e. 13th October. The cyclone season this year too has begun on a similar pattern as the recent cyclonic circulation around Andaman Sea is expected to make a landfall near coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by 12th October. However, due to the limited sea travel, the circulation will not become a very severe cyclonic storm.
Depression intensifies into cyclonic Storm
