India's monsoon season swamps Mumbai
Lashing rains swamped India's financial capital Mumbai on Monday as the annual monsoon arrived some two weeks earlier than usual, according to weather forecasters.
Heavy rains cooling temperatures -- welcomed by farmers for their crops but which cause havoc each year in cities by flooding transport infrastructure -- are normally expected in the southwestern state of Maharashtra in early June.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of 'extremely heavy rainfall' in Mumbai and the city authorities said a red alert had been issued until Tuesday.
'All citizens are advised to stay indoors and avoid travel unless necessary' the city authorities said in a statement, urging people to 'kindly cooperate.'
The IMD said in a statement that the rains had advanced to Mumbai on Monday, '16 days earlier than usual,' with rains usually expected around June 11, the earliest for nearly a quarter century.
'This marks the earliest monsoon advancement over Mumbai during the period 2001-2025,' it said.
Across the wider state of Maharashtra, IMD weather chief in the region Shubhangi Bhute said it was the earliest the rains had arrived for 14 years.
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.
The southwest monsoon is a colossal sea breeze that brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year.
It occurs when summer heat warms the landmass of the subcontinent, causing the air to rise and sucking in cooler Indian Ocean winds which then produce enormous volumes of rain.
The monsoon is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security.
But it brings destruction every year in landslides and floods.
In India, the southwest monsoon normally arrives on the southern tip at Kerala around June 1, and moves north to cover the country by early July. The rains typically reach Maharashtra around June 7.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
At least 34 dead in India's northeast after heavy floods
At least 34 people have died in India's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas. In neighbouring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari on Sunday. Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert. India's northeast and Bangladesh are prone to torrential rains that set off deadly landslides and flash floods, affecting millions of people every year. Roads and houses in Assam's Silchar city were flooded, visuals from news agency ANI showed, and fallen trees littered the roads. 'We are facing a lot of challenges. I have a child, their bed is submerged in water. What will we do in such a situation? We keep ourselves awake throughout the night,' Sonu Devi, a resident of Silchar, told ANI.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
At Least 34 Dead in India's Northeast After Heavy Floods
At least 34 people have died in India's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas. In neighboring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari on Sunday. Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert. India's northeast and Bangladesh are prone to torrential rains that set off deadly landslides and flash floods, affecting millions of people every year. Roads and houses in Assam's Silchar city were flooded, visuals from news agency ANI showed, and fallen trees littered the roads. "We are facing a lot of challenges. I have a child, their bed is submerged in water. What will we do in such a situation? We keep ourselves awake throughout the night," Sonu Devi, a resident of Silchar, told ANI.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
At least 34 dead in India's northeast after heavy floods
BHUBANESWAR/DHAKA: At least 34 people have died in India's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas. In neighboring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari on Sunday. Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert. India's northeast and Bangladesh are prone to torrential rains that set off deadly landslides and flash floods, affecting millions of people every year. Roads and houses in Assam's Silchar city were flooded, visuals from news agency ANI showed, and fallen trees littered the roads. 'We are facing a lot of challenges. I have a child, their bed is submerged in water. What will we do in such a situation? We keep ourselves awake throughout the night,' Sonu Devi, a resident of Silchar, told ANI.
