Heat wave eases in India after killing nearly 2,000 people

AP
HYDERABAD, MAY 30

Showers and thunderstorms in parts of southern India on Saturday helped eased a weekslong summer heat wave that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives.The heat wave, however, was expected to continue in some areas of worst-hit Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states for another 24 hours, said Y.K. Reddy, an Indian Meteorological Department director.
Heat-related conditions, including dehydration and heat stroke, have killed at least 1,490 people in Andhra Pradesh and 489 in Telangana since mid-April, according to state officials.
Daytime temperatures hovered between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius (104 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit) in the two states on Saturday, after soaring to as high as 48 C (118 F) earlier in the week, the meteorological department said.
A strong thunderstorm brought some relief from the stifling heat to Anantapur, a town in Andhra Pradesh, though the storm uprooted trees and electricity poles and cut power in some areas.
People also heaved sighs of relief in the Telangana state capital of Hyderabad and Telangana’s Mehubnagar district, which recorded 1 centimeter (.39 inch) of rain.
However, at least four districts — Guntur, Krishna and East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, and Nalgonda in Telangana — were still in the grip of the heat wave, the meteorological department said, adding that they would likely get some relief in the next 24 hours due to rain in nearby areas.
Cooling monsoon rains are expected next week in southern India before gradually advancing north. The monsoon season will last until the end of September.
Forecasting service AccuWeather warned Friday of prolonged drought conditions in India, with the monsoon likely to be disrupted by a more active typhoon season over the Pacific.

Monsoon progress sluggish; to miss forcast date

PTI
NEW DELHI, MAY 30

The onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala has been delayed from the date forecast by the Met department due to its “sluggish” pace.
The normal date for onset of monsoon over Kerela is June 1. It also marks the official onset on rains in the country. This year, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that it will hit the southern state on May 30.
According to Skymet, a private forecasting agency, monsoon arrived over Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 16, three days prior to the onset date. Since then, the advance has been slow. By May 21, the southwest monsoon advanced over Bay of Bengal touching southern parts of Sri Lanka. But here on, the monsoon stagnated for a week.
“The Arabian Sea branch of the southwest monsoon made very slow advance and is yet to reach the extreme southern tip (Kerala) of India. Cloud build up on either side of the sea was looking promising till a few days back for the timely onset over Kerala. However, it slowed down as the cloud pattern became a little diffused and unorganised,” Skymet said.
However, the IMD has refused to call it a delay, but said that the progress was sluggish. “As per our forcast, there is +/- difference of four days, which is from May 27 to June 3.
“At this moment, monsoon has already entered the Arabian Sea, crossed Sri Lanka and entered the Bay of Bengal. We are closely monitoring its progress. During the progress of monsoon, it is often observed that its pace varies,” said Krishnanand Hosalikar, Deputy Director, IMD.
But pre-monsoon rain is still being observed in Karnataka and Kerala.
“In the last 24 hours, Karnataka has observed good rainfall. Kerala too experienced good rains on May 28 with Pampakuda in Ernakulam district recording 55mm of rains. Udayanampuram in Kottayam district received 37mm of rains while Mundathicode in Thrissur observed 30mm of rainfall.
On May 29, the rainfall activity in Kerala became minimal with isolated places receiving very light rain.
“However, in the last 24 hours, some rainfall has been observed in the state but the weather activity has been patchy in nature, which is not the characteristic of monsoon,” Skymet added.