Skymet weather

Cumulative rain deficit exceeds 60% in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, despite rain

Southwest Monsoon, after ushering in a little early, made a sluggish start with subdued activity in the initial phase and made a very slow advancement. Monsoon in India this year has been extremely weak in terms of both intensity and coverage, particularly in northwestern parts of India. The month of June was very gloomy for the entire country as the cumulative rain deficit mounted to 43% and Northwest made a major contribution to this deficiency.

Monsoon had advanced over Punjab and Haryana (the same as it covered Delhi) by the first week of July but remained feeble. Most parts went through a prolonged period of parched conditions.

Weather in Delhi

After remaining arid for almost the entire Monsoon season, Delhi was lashed by heavy and widespread rain on Thursday, though varying in intensity. In a span of 24 hours from 8.30 am on Thursday, the Palam Observatory recorded 103.6 mm of rain, while Safdarjung observed 56.7 mm of rain.

This rain occurred due to the low pressure area in Madhya Pradesh shifting closer to Delhi/NCR and west Uttar Pradesh.

Weather in Punjab

Amritsar - With temperatures soaring in high-thirties and nil rainfall since the 5th of July, Amritsar kept yearning for rain. Its plea was finally heard and the city also received good showers of 59 mm on Thursday. But, this rain was purely localised as no other neighbouring areas received any rain. This spot rain cannot be attributed to any Monsoon system.

Patiala- This city also experienced a long dry spell since the 3rd of July and received just 5 mm of rain on Thursday.

Weather in Haryana

Hisar- Hisarreceived a meagre amount of 4 mm of rain after almost 15 days. Parts of Haryana including Hisar had been recording maximums way above normal average, beyond 40⁰C and experiencing severe heat wave conditions for more than 10 days, before this spell of rain. On 15th Hisar recorded 43⁰C as maximum but it has now come down to 36⁰C in last 24 hours.

Taking into consideration the marginal improvement in cumulative rain deficit in the last 4 days, the deficit is still high, exceeding 60%, in Northwest India and Gujarat. Even as of today, half way through July, these regions are still among the highest contributors of the rising national rain deficiency.

Reason behind parched situation

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the spell of rain is likely to end in next 24 hours and prospects do not seem very bright for rain in the near future in the above regions. This situation could be attributed to the Monsoon trough, Western Disturbance or any other weather system not showing up or reaching till the northwestern parts of India.

picture courtesy- students hangout

Typhoon Rammasun to make landfall by Saturday night

Typhoon Rammasun after devastating Philippines entered South China Sea and now seems to be building up in strength in the open sea.

It is presently positioned at 19.1⁰N Latitude and 112.3⁰E Longitude. The storm is moving at a speed of 25 kmph, sustaining winds of 200 kmph and gusting to about 250 kmph. After making landfall, near Legazpi City of Philippines on Tuesday evening, the typhoon weakened but started gaining strength once again as it entered the open sea.

The typhoon is equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane at present but will weaken to Category 2 before making landfall between the coast of Vietnam and South East China. In Spite of losing strength, the tropical storm will still be capable of causing good rain over the area.

Known as Glenda in Philippines, Rammasun had earlier wreaked havoc in the country. It led to evacuation of thousands of people and claimed lives as it churned across the archipelago uprooting trees and power lines leading to electrocutions and blackouts.

Shaping Monsoon System in Bay of Bengal

Skymet Meteorology division in India reiterates the fact that history of such storms suggest that after reaching the coastal areas of south China, they weaken but remnants of such systems come very close to northeastern parts of India and play an important role in shaping up of Monsoon systems in the Bay of Bengal.

Rammasun will make landfall late Saturday night and thereafter, take another 2 days to come close to the Indian coast.

picture courtesy- CIMSS

 

Rain in Uttarakhand continues to be heavy, Char Dham Yatra halted

Incessant rains have continued to throw normal life out of gear in the hill state of Uttarakhand. Rivers like Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Sharda and Alaknanda are flowing near the danger mark. People living close to the rivers have been asked to leave their houses and move to safer places.

According to the data available with Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Nainital has received 152 mm of rain, Mukteshwar 132 mm, Champawat 72 mm, Almora 44 mm, Pithoragarh 39 mm, Tehri Garhwal 36 mm, Uttarkashi 35 mm of rain, Haridwar 33 mm, Dehradun 19 mm and Joshimath 8 mm of rain in the last 24 hours from 8.30 am on Thursday.

The weather is expected to remain the same for the next 24-48 hours. Moderate to heavy rain in Uttarakhand will be observed during this period. Kumaon region consisting of Pithoragarh, Champawat, Nainital, Almora and Udhamsingh Nagar districts is most likely to receive the bulk of the rain.

Meanwhile, the Char Dham Yatra has been suspended till Saturday as heavy rains have caused landslides at several places along the yatra route.  The national highway in the Kedar valley has been inundated with water at some places. The Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway and the road connecting Kedarnath and Gaurikund have also been blocked.

It was during the beginning of the Char Dham Yatra on 16th June, 2013 that very heavy rain and cloudburst caused severe flooding in the state. About 5000 people including pilgrims were killed in this calamity.

Twelve out of thirteen districts in Uttarakhand bore the brunt of the fury. Rudraprayag, Chamoli Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh were the worst affected districts. The Kedarnath Temple, one of the famous temples of Lord Shiva and part of the Char Dham Yatra was also damaged.

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China imported 218,600 tonnes of cotton in the month of June, down 19.1 percent on the year, but up 13.9 percent compared with the previous month, according to the industry association. The China Cotton Association said the average price of the imports stood at $2,132 per tonne, down $5 compared with the previous month.

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Soybean| Indian Soybean recovered from early lows to end flat, helped by delayed

Indian Soybean recovered from early lows to end flat, helped by delayed sowing in the top producing state of Madhya Pradesh due to scanty rainfall. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) now expects the US soybean harvest to grow by 4.5 percent to a record 3.8 billion bushels, topping analysts' expectations by 0.7 percent.

Maximum temperatures increase as rain reduces in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu, lying on the rain shadow area, generally receives less rain by Southwest Monsoon but somehow it received good showers since the beginning of the Monsoon season. In spite of rain deficit in most parts of the country, the state has received normal rainfall so far.

Neighbouring areas like Rayalaseema, south interior Karnataka and Kerala receive good showers during Monsoon in India but Tamil Nadu hardly receives any rain when compared to these adjoining areas.

The state received surplus rain of about 14% till last week but now the state is warming in absence of any rain since a week now. The cumulative rain percentage has reduced but is still surplus by 9% as the state as a whole has surpassed the normal average rainfall of 77.8 mm. From 1st June to 16th July, Tamil Nadu has received 85 mm of rain.

Temperatures across the state are now rising above the normal average of 35⁰C. On Wednesday, Chennai recorded maximum of 37⁰C, Nellore 38.4⁰C and Madurai 39⁰C.

The capital city Chennai and other major cities mentioned above have been experiencing a dry spell in the last 5 days and no weather activity is likely in the offing, according to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India.

 

Monsoon rain reaches last post

The Monsoon has finally covered west Rajasthan but the advancement has been very sluggish this year. Advancement of Monsoon in India is usually not uniform; sometimes it is quick and covers a large part of the country and at times it is slow.

Going by the trend, the western arm of the Monsoon line generally makes a quick advancement. For example, the onset date of Monsoon in Kerala is 1st June and by 10th June it crosses Mumbai and reaches Dahanu. The eastern arm of the Monsoon is also known for moving quickly, but they slow down after covering some distance.

The slowest advancement is over wester Rajasthan. It normally takes about 12 days for the Monsoon to reach west Rajasthan after its onset over Delhi on 29th June. The variation remains very high and could take even longer.

The irregular advancement of Monsoon can be gauged by the fact that in 2005 the Monsoon had covered the entire country by 30th June, while in 2006 it was delayed and covered the country by 24th July. This clearly shows how high the variation is.

This time too Monsoon has been delayed, covering west Rajasthan by 17th July. In a span of 24 hours, from 8.30 am on Wednesday the bordering areas of Jaisalmer received 3 mm of rain and Bikaner 3 mm. Ganganagar and Jaipur received 36 and 46 mm of rain respectively.

It is to be noted that after the arrival of Monsoon, the region observes infrequent rain.

 







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