Rain today highlights: Mumbai received over 2318.8 mm seasonal rainfall till July 31

India is expected to record normal rainfall during the second half (August-September period) of the monsoon season following excess precipitation in July, with the IMD saying EL Nino conditions have failed to impact the performance of the annual rain-bearing wind system so far.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier said El Nino may affect the second half of the southwest monsoon.

India is likely to receive below-average rainfall in August due to the El Nino weather pattern, a senior weather department official said on Monday, after an above-average monsoon in July helped farmers accelerate crop planting.

The monsoon, vital for India's $3 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain needed to water its farms and refill reservoirs and aquifers.

Even as the floods and heavy rains have washed away the crop and hope of the farmers of Haryana, but the deluge has come as a blessing in disguise for the paddy nursery growers -who are earning huge profit by selling it to the hapless farmers at arbitrary prices.

Reports collected from the flood affected areas of northern districts reveal that the nursery growers are selling it at ₹1500 per marla to ₹5000 per marla (depending upon the variety) besides ₹800 per marla and earning a profit of ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh from one acre, which within a period of one month.

Amid the peak of the monsoon season, six of the eight districts in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region are still witnessing a deficit in rainfall, with Parbhani receiving about 73 per cent of the expected rainfall till July end.

The Marathwada region comprises the districts of Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli and Parbhani.

According to a report by the divisional commissioner, Parbhani district has received 266.6 mm of rainfall against the expected figure of 354.5 mm, which is about 73 per cent, as of July end.

Jalna has received 248.5 mm of rain, or 83 per cent, compared with 299 mm of expected rainfall, while it is 85.8 per cent for Aurangabad – 238.1 mm against 277.4 mm.

In good news for farmers, excess rainfall in July made up for June’s deficit in Andhra Pradesh, registering normal rainfall for both the months cumulatively, an official said on Monday. The state recorded 16 per cent excess rainfall in July, logging 151.5 mm rainfall on average across the state against the normal range of 131.1 mm whereas June suffered a deficit of 37 per cent. On adding the quantum of rainfall in both months, the state recorded rainfall of 210.7 mm against the normal of 225.2 mm.

Over 17,000 people died in floods and heavy rains between 2012 and 2021 in the country, the government said on Monday.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said the increased incidence of high intensity rainfall of short duration is mainly responsible for urban floods, which is further compounded by unplanned growth, encroachment of natural water bodies and poor drainage system.

According to data shared by Tudu in the House, 17,422 deaths due to floods and heavy rains from 2012 to 2021 took place in India.

India is most likely to see normal rainfall during the second half of the monsoon season (August and September) following excess precipitation in July, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

It said normal to above normal rainfall is very likely over east central India, parts of the east and northeast region and most subdivisions along the Himalayas.

Below normal rainfall is predicted in most parts of peninsular India and western parts of northwest and central India, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said at a press conference here.

Decreasing trend being seen in monsoon rain in east and northeast regions: IMD.

Amid a rise in dengue cases in Delhi, scores of city municipal workers, who are at the forefront of the fight against vector-borne diseases, began their indefinite strike on Monday.

Authorities at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have been appealing to these workers to reconsider their decision in view of the spike in dengue cases in the last few weeks.

The strike by DBC (dengue breeding checking) workers is taking place under the banner of Anti-Malaria Ekta Karmachari Union, on a day the MCD House is set to convene for a meeting.

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Sunday hit out at the state government over the damage caused due to the downpour in the state. He said that more than 15 days have passed, but the roads have not been restored yet.

Thakur said, "It was not that it did not rain or there was no damage due to floods when our government was in power, but within three days the state's roads were restored. But now, more than 15 days have passed, and the roads are still not restored".

"Floods have caused a lot of damage to the people of the state. The roads here have been affected the most. The apple season is at its peak, still, the roads have not been restored", added the former Himachal CM.

Mumbai has received over 2318.8 mm seasonal rainfall till 31st July, with 0.4 mm rainfall recorded at Santacruz observatory at 1430 hours today: IMD

Environmentalist, social activist and former Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikender Singh Panwar has filed an FIR against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the four-lane building company GR Infra in Parwanoon Police station of Solan district of the state.

A case has been registered for unscientific construction and violating the norms to build the road which caused landslides, flood and killed so many people during the heavy rains in the state. Tikender said that this was criminal negligence as norms have been violated and it had adversely affected the people, crops and ecology of the Himalayas.

Indian farmers have planted 23.7 million hectares with summer-sown rice so far, according to the farm ministry's latest data, up 1.71% year-on-year, as crucial monsoon rains revived in July and helped farmers accelerate sowing.

Higher rice planting in India, the world's second biggest producer of the grain, will ease concerns about the lower output of the staple.

Earlier this month, India ordered a halt to its largest rice export category - a move that will roughly halve shipments by the world's largest exporter of the grain.

An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) will visit Telangana from Monday to assess the damage caused by floods in the state following the recent heavy rains, Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy said.

Addressing a press conference, he slammed the BRS Government in the state, saying that the dispensation is "ignorant" of the gravity of the situation and suggested it needs to spend the funds, also contributed by the Centre amounting to ₹900 crore, which are lying with it under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) towards relief measures.

The minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 27.2 degrees Celsius -- normal for this time of the year -- on a humid Monday morning, the weather office said.

At 8.30 am, the relative humidity stood at 86 per cent.

The weather office has forecast a generally cloudy sky with light to very light rain. The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 36 degrees Celsius.

The weather body said that light to moderate rainfall is likely in most parts of Jharkhand Monday.

The weather body issued a yellow laert for seven Himachal Pradesh districts on Monday, including Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba and others.

The weather body issued a yellow alert, indicating light to moderate rainfall at isolated places in various states for Monday. These included West UP, East Rajasthan, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra among other regions.

For Delhi, the weather office forecast a generally cloudy sky with light to very light rain on Monday. The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 36 degrees Celsius.

In the past two days, an interaction between a western disturbance and the monsoon trough led to extremely heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana, causing landslides, flash floods, widespread damage to highways and other infrastructure.