Monsoon
hit Supaul district of Bihar on Monday, triggering light to moderate
rainfall in eastern and north-eastern parts of the state.
After
a brief hiatus, south-west monsoon has regained steam across India.
Various regions in the country, including Mumbai
and Kolkata, received heavy rainfall on Monday.
According
to reports, at least 11 people were killed in rain-related incidents
in Mumbai and southern districts of Bengal alone.
The
downpour led to waterlogging in several places of Mumbai and Kolkata,
disrupting rail and road traffic for several hours in both the
cities.
Traffic
moved at snail's pace, office goers and school children were inconv
enienced, and taxis fleeced commuters - all familiar scenes in
rain-hit Kolkata and Mumbai.
Meanwhile,
the monsoon hit Supaul district of Bihar on Monday, triggering light
to moderate rainfall in eastern and north-eastern parts of the state.
The
rain-bearing winds are likely to advance towards the other parts of
Bihar in the next 48 hours, the Met department said on Monday.
According
to a weather bulletin released by India Meteorological Department
(IMD) on Tuesday, conditions are becoming favourable for advancement
of monsoon into Uttar Pradesh and south-east Rajasthan in the next 48
hours.
How
heavy rains affected Mumbai and Kolkata:
Mumbai:
Torrential rains clobbered large areas of Mumbai and other parts of
Maharashtra, claiming at least five lives in rain-related incidents,
officials said on Monday.
Heavy
rains lashed the city and Thane district throughout Sunday night
continued till, causing water-logging at several places and slowing
the movement of suburban trains.
Kolkata:
Five persons died in lightning strikes and one drowned as heavy
monsoon showers left various areas of the metropolis and the southern
Bengal districts waterlogged on Monday.
A
Met department bulletin on Monday warned of "heavy to very heavy
rainfall (7-20 cm)" in most places of Darjeeling, Kalimpong,
Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts from June 25 June
29, "caused by an upper air cyclonic circulation over West Assam
and sub-Himalayan West Bengal".
It
said several south Bengal districts would also be affected by
incessant rainfall over the next three days and issued an alert for
North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.
The
conditions may prevail till light showers bring respite to Delhi and
adjoining regions around June 16 and 17.
Dust
Storm Delhi : Air quality in Delhi remained beyond "severe"
level for the third day on Thursday, as authorities warned the
prevailing dusty conditions were likely to prevail for three-four
days and advised people to avoid staying outdoors for long hours.
The
national capital woke up under the shade of dust with the minimum
temperature recorded at 34 degrees Celsius, five notches above the
season's average. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around
41 to 42 degrees Celsius. By 9.30am, the temperature at Palam was
already 35 degrees Celsius.
How
bad is it
The
PM10 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10mm) was
beyond severe at 796 in Delhi-NCR and 830 in Delhi particularly,
leading to hazy conditions.
According
to the CPCB, the air quality index — a measurement of the
concentration of toxic particulate matter in the air — at several
places in Delhi remained beyond the 500-mark, with east Delhi's Anand
Vihar area recording a PM10 level of 929 and PM2.5 level of 301 this
morning.
An
AQI between 0-50 is considered “Good”, 51-100 “Satisfactory”,
101-200 “Moderate”, 201-300 “Poor”, 301-400 “Very Poor”,
and 401-500 "Severe".
The
CPCB said pollution this summer is very different from last year. In
November, both PM2.5 and PM10 spiked in the Delhi-NCR region, posing
serious health hazard to residents.
The
increase in pollution levels now is mainly due to drastic increase in
coarse particles in air. This time the PM2.5, ultra-fine particles
that may reach lungs and affect its functioning, is not as high as
that of November last year.
With
thunderstorms and dust storms killing hundreds across the country, it
has become prudent to keep a track of IMD's warnings. Here's IMD's
forecast for the coming four days.
Uttar
Pradesh is expected to be hit by another round of thunderstorms
over the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD)
warned on Sunday. The state witnessed over a dozen deaths due to
thunderstorms over the weekend.
The weather department has predicted thunderstorms
for several states across India, including Bihar, Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, in the next few days.
The fresh warning comes days after 17 people were
killed and 11 injured in deadly dust storms in Uttar Pradesh.
Dust
storms have become a regular phenomenon in the state, leaving
over 130 people dead last month. On May 13, 39 people died in various
districts, including Bareilly, Barabanki, Bulandshahr and Lakhimpur
Khiri.
On May 9, a severe storm left 18 dead and 27 others
injured. Five people died in Etawah district, three each in Mathura,
Aligarh, and Agra, two in Firozabad and one each in Hathras and
Kanpur Dehat.
Here is what the IMD has predicted for different
parts of the country:
Dust storm or thunderstorm in 13 UP districts on
Monday: The IMD has predicted another round of storms in 13
districts of Uttar Pradesh in the next two days.
According to the meteorological department, the
districts that might be hit by thunderstorms or dust storms are
Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit,
Bareilly, Rampur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar, and
Saharanpur.
The weather office has also forecast "very
likely" rain in certain parts of the state.
Thunderstorms across India on Monday: Apart
from Uttar Pradesh, the country's eastern, central and southern
regions are also expected to witness thunderstorms on Monday. The
regions include Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh.
Thunderstorms expected to hit North India on
Wednesday and Thursday: The IMD has predicted thunderstorms
accompanied with gusty winds and lightning over Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi for
Wednesday and Thursday.
