India: Unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms disrupt life across cities
Four people have reportedly died, with more than a dozen injured in the capital Delhi and other neighbouring cities in the area according to local media, after a severe hailstorm hit the city on Wednesday. The powerful storm uprooted trees, triggered power outages and led to massive traffic snarls due to waterlogging on the streets. Similar scenes were reported from India's financial capital Mumbai where pre-monsoon showers led to flooding in parts of the city. India's weather agency has warned that "heavy to very heavy rainfall" is likely over India's western coast during next 6-7 days with rains and thunderstorms expected in almost a dozen states over the coming days, particularly in the southern part of the country.
On Wednesday, nearly 50 flights at Delhi airport - one of the busiest in the country - were delayed and almost a dozen flights were diverted due to heavy showers, the Hindustan Times newspaper said quoting an airport official.Passengers onboard a flight operated by India's largest carrier Indigo to Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, had a particularly harrowing journey after the aircraft got stuck in the hailstorm. A video being circulated online shows many passengers screaming for help as the plane trembled violently due to strong turbulence. In a statement, the airline said the flight landed safely in Srinagar, but a picture of the aircraft's nose appearing to be damaged has been circulating online. The airline has not commented on the photo. Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro issued an advisory on X, warning commuters of potential delays due to trees and other debris falling on the tracks.
In Mumbai, viral videos from the city's Andheri area, an affluent neighbourhood, showed plastic bags and other waste floating on the streets after the rains clogged up the sewers.Many social media users criticised authorities for poor waste management and the city's failing drainage system.Earlier this week, incessant rains brought Bengaluru, also known as India's Silicon Valley, to a halt. At least four people were killed in rain-related incidents. Videos from the city showed commuters wading through knee-deep water, with several cars stranded on waterlogged streets. In some parts of the city, water had also entered the homes of people. India receives 80% of its annual rainfall during the monsoon season, which usually starts from June and continues until September. The monsoon is crucial for the livelihoods of many Indians, especially the country's farmers who rely on seasonal showers in the absence of irrigation in many parts of the country. But experts say climate change has made erratic weather, including unseasonal rains, flash floods and droughts linked to extreme heat a more regular phenomenon, upending the lives of millions.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: Fierce thunderstorms and big hailstones hit parts of Europe
This week, large parts of Europe have been affected by a series of intense thunderstorms, bringing torrential rain, damaging winds, and large hail. Central France was particularly badly affected by the severe weather, as powerful storm systems swept south-westward across the country. The departments of Loire and Puy-de-Dôme were among the hardest hit, experiencing significant damage from a particularly violent supercell thunderstorm that produced hailstones measuring up to 6cm in diameter – larger than ping-pong balls. The storm system also generated flash flooding, strong wind gusts, and reports of a localised 'mini-tornado', leaving widespread damage to infrastructure and vehicles in its wake. The storms were fuelled by warm, saturated air rising from the Mediterranean clashing with cooler air descending from northern Europe. This temperature contrast created significant atmospheric instability. Additionally, the orographic influence of the Vosges and Jura mountain ranges probably contributed to storm intensification by enhancing uplift. The powerful supercell formed under conditions of high wind shear, where changes in wind speed and direction with altitude encouraged the development of a rotating updraft. These intense updrafts lifted raindrops high into the atmosphere, where they froze and coalesced into large hailstones before falling to the ground with destructive force. Meanwhile, southern China has once again experienced heavy rainfall, triggering landslides, emergency evacuations, and widespread disruption to transport networks across the region. In Quanzhou County, approximately 300 cubic metres of debris, including soil and large boulders, tumbled down a hillside, blocking a major roadway and bringing traffic to a standstill. In Guilin's Lingui district, rainfall totals exceeded 207mm on Monday alone, highlighting the severity of the ongoing weather system and its impact on the local infrastructure and communities. Canada is currently battling more than 200 active wildfires, primarily across Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with approximately 2.3 million hectares burnt, most within the past week. At least half of these fires are classified as out of control, and have led to widespread evacuations. Thick smoke from the fires has significantly reduced air quality, spreading across a third of the US, and more recently have reached Europe. Hot, dry conditions, intensified by climate change, have been worsening the situation, and are expected to help fuel the fires over the coming days.
Reuters
18 hours ago
- Reuters
GAIL India's Dabhol LNG terminal goes all-weather with first monsoon cargo
June 6 (Reuters) - GAIL (India)'s ( opens new tab Dabhol LNG Terminal in the western state of Maharashtra received its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo during the traditionally disruptive monsoon rains on June 2, the gas transporter said on Friday. This marks the start of year-round operations at the terminal, the company said in a press release. The commissioning of a breakwater facility — structures that protect a port against high tides — at the terminal last month allows ships to dock safely and allow it to function as an "all-weather port". Earlier, the terminal used to be shut for four months during the rainy season. GAIL expects the breakwater to "significantly enhance vessel accessibility and improve capacity utilization at the terminal". The company plans to expand the facility's capacity from 5 to 6.3 million-metric-tonnes-per-annum in the next three years, allowing it to handle up to 100 LNG cargoes annually, it added. GAIL shares were last up 0.3% on Friday.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Heavy showers at weekend could match May's total rainfall
England could face almost as much rainfall in a few hours on Saturday as it had for the whole of May, according to the Met Office. Forecasters said around 30mm of rain could fall in just three hours in southern parts of the UK, with hail and thunder possible. Up to 50mm of rain could fall over the course of the day. Find out the forecast for your area Met Office data shows England had 32.8mm of rain last month, almost half the month's usual average. It has forecast heavier and more frequent showers on Saturday, as well as some unseasonably strong winds in coastal areas, with a risk of surface-water flooding. Sunday seems like it will be drier, before more rain in northern England on Monday. Meteorologist Honor Criswick said low pressure was behind the wet weather. "At the north of the country this brings in a north-westerly wind, so gradually drags in frontal systems out from the west and south-west, and that leads to some pretty changeable and wet weather at times," she said. 'Changeable' weather ahead The weather for the rest of the week will be "changeable", Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishiop said. "Generally the theme is the continuation of something a bit cooler, a bit breezy at times, and a bit wet at times too," she said. "We are keeping an eye on a new front which looks like it will move in on Friday night, bringing rain which could be heavy, and possibly thundery at times on Saturday. "Rainfall totals of 20-30mm are likely in places and, at present, this looks like it will affect the southern half of the UK. We are keeping a close eye on this to see how it evolves over the next 24 hours or so."
