New Delhi: The heat claimed three lives
in Andhra Pradesh, taking the toll to over 130 this season as
the northern region today baked under the blazing sun with the
mercury staying above the 40 degree celsius mark at many
places.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Health and Disaster Management
departments have been put on alert as officials confirmed the
death of three persons due to sun-stroke.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah directed officials of both
departments to launch a campaign advising people on
precautions against the summer heat.
In the northern region, the unbearable temperatures
affected normal life as Churu in Rajasthan sizzled at a high
of 45.8 degree celsius.
In Jodhpur, the mercury settled at 43.4 degrees, the
Met department said.
In Punjab and Haryana, the heat wave intensified with
daytime tempertures being up to five degrees above normal
forcing people to stay indoors.
Hisar was the hottest in the region at a high of 45
degrees, the Met office said.
Patiala experienced a daytime temperature of 41.6
degrees while the maximum temperature in Karnal was 41.4
degrees.
Ludhiana saw the mercury settle at 41.2 degrees while
it was 40.8 degrees in Amritsar.
Besides the heat wave, people at several places in the
region also bore the brunt of unscheduled power cuts and water
shortage.
In the national capital, residents had to face another
hot day with the maximum temperature being recorded at 43.2
degrees. The minimum was recorded at 30.2 degrees, up 4.3
notches from yesterday.
The humidity oscillated between 12 and 39 per cent.
Over 130 people have died due to the heat across the
country this summer with with 127 of them dying in Orissa.
Monsoon over Kerala likely on May 30: Met department
Southwest monsoon, critical for the farm-based economy of the country, is expected to reach Kerala on May 30, two days before its normal onset date in the coastal state.
"The south-west monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala on May 30 according to the forecast of India Meteorological Department (IMD)," Earth Sciences Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here this evening.
The much awaited seasonal rains are expected to bring showers to the Andaman Sea by May 20. The onset of monsoon over the Andaman Sea sets the stage for the four-month summer rain season that powers the trillion-dollar economy with agriculture as its prime engine of growth.
Last month, the IMD had forecast normal monsoon rains for the season beginning June 1. The normal monsoon forecast is expected to bring cheer to over 235 million farmers who had faced drought last year due to failed monsoon. A good monsoon could help sowing of rice, sugarcane, soybean and corn, and lead to a rebound in the agricultural output.
Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences claimed that the IMD has been issuing accurate forecast on the onset of monsoon over Kerala for the past five years using an indigenously developed statistical model. Another favourable parameter for a normal monsoon was the end of the El Nino event for the year. Australian Bureau of Meteorology had announced the conclusion of the El Nino event of 2009-10 saying that all the major indicators were now below El Nino thresholds.
The periodic warming of the equatorial to equatorial east Pacific is known to affect adversely the monsoon rains in India. The unusual warming of the Pacific water was one of the factors believed to have affected the monsoon season last year. Weather scientists now expect the La Nina conditions to develop which are known to be favourable to the Indian monsoon.
La Nina represents the exact reverse of El Nino, when the warming anomaly spreads westwards in the Pacific and has been largely known to favour an Indian monsoon.
Historically, about 40% of El Nino events are immediately followed by a La Nina, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said.
