Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Amid a potential El Nino threat, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday directed all state departments to prioritise disaster mitigation through rigorous water planning, accelerated soil conservation, and the rejuvenation of old water resources.Presiding over a high-level review meeting, he emphasised that the state must remain “battle-ready” to minimise the impact of a predicted rainfall deficit.Fadnavis asked the administration to immediately focus o…
Latest El Nino News & Updates
New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday directed the Agriculture Secretary and concerned senior officials to ensure that all necessary arrangements are made well in advance to safeguard farmers’ interests.The meeting to reviews Kharif preparedness extensively discussed weather forecasts, water availability, crop conditions, arrangements for seeds and other agricultural inputs, states’ preparations, and action plans to cope with potential adverse weat…
New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) The 2026 southwest monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country is most likely to be below normal or around 95-90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.Releasing its Long Range Forecast for the 2026 Southwest Monsoon season rainfall, the IMD said that the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 92 per cent of the LPA with a model error of plus-minus 5 per cent.The LPA …
New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) India’s inflation rate, based on the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with 2024 as the base year, edged up to 3.4 per cent in March compared to the same month of the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.The commodities that recorded the highest inflation during the month were silver jewellery, which saw a 148.61 per cent jump in prices, and gold jewellery, which clocked a 45.92 per cent increase in prices.Overall food i…
Brussels, April 10 (IANS) Global sea surface temperatures rose to their second-highest level on record in March and edged closer to the peaks seen during the last El Nino episode, the European Union’s (EU) climate monitor said Friday, suggesting the climate may be entering a new warming phase later this year.Average sea surface temperature over the extra-polar oceans, spanning 60 degrees south to 60 degrees north, reached 20.97 degrees Celsius in March, the second-highest level on record for the…
Chennai, April 9 (IANS) Tamil Nadu is witnessing a steady rise in summer temperatures, with heatwave conditions intensifying across the state. At least seven locations recorded temperatures above 37 degrees on Wednesday, signalling the onset of a stronger and more persistent heatwave this season.Weather experts attribute the early spike in temperatures to the impact of El Niño, which is expected to make this year’s summer hotter than usual across southern India. Even in the first week of Marc…
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Remittances to India are likely to reach an all‑time high of $137–140 billion in FY26 before moderating to $135–137 billion in FY27, amid escalation in West Asia, a report said on Wednesday.Further, enabling true dematerialisation of Retail Direct holdings could boost interoperability and attract strong interest to debt markets from retail investors, the report from SBI Research said.Analysing the language of the central bank governor in the monetary policy meetin…
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance reflected a balanced approach of controlling inflation and supporting economic growth, analysts said on Wednesday.Trade association ASSOCHAM appreciated the “calibrated step aimed at strengthening stability in the macroeconomic environment”, adding that it helps sustain growth momentum and ensure price stability.”This decision underscores the central bank’s ca…
Mumbai, April 8 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday projected the country’s inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2026-27 at 4.6 per cent as the near-term food supply prospects have been boosted by a robust Rabi crop which provides some comfort amid rising oil prices in the international market due to the Iran war.RBI Governor Sanjaya Malhotra said, “The pass-through of higher global energy prices has resulted in price increases in select fuels such as pr…
Chennai, March 25 (IANS) Even before the peak summer season begins, Tamil Nadu is bracing for rising temperatures starting Thursday, with the Regional Meteorological Centre forecasting a gradual increase in heat levels over the next few days.According to the latest weather bulletin, dry weather conditions are expected to prevail across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry through Friday, with no significant rainfall activity in most parts of the state. However, isolated light showers are likely over the hi…