Rain breaks heat spell; alert in parts of Kerala
With showers and thunderstorms overnight, Delhiites woke up to a cloudy morning on Saturday with minimum temperature settling at 29 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 40 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
By May 22, pre-monsoon rain may get slightly intense in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), and continue till May 24. Thus, temperatures may witness a significant drop over the entire Delhi-NCR, a Skymet weather report said.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), thunderstorm, dust storm and gusty winds at a speed of 30-40 kmph are likely in Delhi-NCR and the adjoining areas.
The weather officer has also issued a yellow alert -- ‘watch’ the weather and calls for administrators to ‘be updated’ -- for May 23 and May 24.
According to the IMD bulletin, at least 10 districts in Kerala are also likely to receive heavy rainfall on Saturday and Sunday.
The weather office has issued a yellow alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts for Saturday, and for Wayanad on May 22.
The Idukki district administration, meanwhile, has opened the shutters of Kallarkutty and Pambla dams to release excess water.
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rains from 6cm to 20cm of rain. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11cm.
The Idukki district authorities have informed that since the water level at the Kallarkutty dam has reached Red alert level of 455 metre, the shutters have been opened to release 300 cumecs of water.
As the case was similar to that of Pambla dam in the hilly district, the authorities have opened the shutters to release 500 cumecs of water.
The State Disaster Management Authority has asked the people on the banks of river Periyar to remain vigilant due to the inflow of water.
“Squally weather with speed
reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely to prevail along and off the North Kerala coast. Fishermen are advised not to venture into sea,” the IMD said.
According to IMD website, Kerala has received 237 per cent excess rains during the period from May 12 to 18. Normally the state should receive 47.3 mm rainfall during this period but Kerala received 159.3 mm.
During the same period, Thiruvananthapuram showed a departure of 436 per cent of rain while Kannur showed an increase of 377 per cent. Thrissur received 346 per cent extra while Ernakulam showed a departure of 309 per cent.
All the districts in the state received “large excess” of rainfall during this period.
The IMD has earlier predicted that the Southwest monsoon, which is also known as Edavapathy in the state, is likely to bring its first showers to Kerala by May 27, five days earlier than the normal onset date.
In the northeast, meanwhile, Assam is reeling from severe floods in Nagaon, Hojai, Cachar and Darrang districts.
According to data from the State Disaster Management Authority, nearly 712,000 people in 29 districts of the state have been severely affected.
Over 336,000 people have been affected alone in Nagaon district followed by 166,000 in Cachar district, 111,000 in Hojai, and 52,709 in Darrang district.
The death toll due to rain-related incidents in the state rose to 14, after four people including two children died on Friday after drowning in floodwaters in Cachar, Lakhimpur and Nagaon districts.
According to the SDRF, 80036.90 hectares of cropland and 2,251 villages are still underwater.
A total of 74,705 flood-affected people are currently lodged in 234 relief camps set up by the district administration.