Heavy Rainfall in Maharashtra, Gujarat From Wednesday Due to Cyclone Maha; Delhi Air Quality Worsens

Weather forecast: India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Cyclone Maha over East Central Arabian Sea has moved westwards & intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 pm, about 590 km WSW of Veraval, Gujarat. Many parts of Gujarat received unseasonal rain owing to Cyclone Maha that also lead to crop damage. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has promised compensation to the affected farmers. On Sunday, the Indian Coast Guard had deployed 7 ships and 2 aircraft off Gujarat coast to alert fishing boats at sea and asked them to return to the nearest port at the earliest.

The weather department also predicted heavy rainfall at isolated places over Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and hail at isolated places is possible over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

On the other hand, the Maharashtra Government has issued heavy rainfall & thundershowers warning for north Konkan & north-central part of the state from 6-8 November due to Cyclone Maha. It has asked the fishermen to return back to the shores & all district administrations to remain alert.

In the meantime, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will receive light to moderate rainfall at isolated places during the next four days, as per the weekly bulletin issued by Regional Meteorological Department on 3 November 2019. The northern districts that includes Chennai will stay dry until Tuesday (5 November) but southern districts will continue witnessing light to moderate rainfall till the weekend. Isolated parts of Madurai & neighbouring districts in south Tamil Nadu experienced heavy rainfall yesterday.

Delhi Pollution Level

Talking about the Delhi pollution, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said that the national capital's 24-hour average air quality index or AQI stood at 494 at 4pm on 3 November 2019, which was the highest since 6 November 2016, when it was 497. All government as well as private schools in Delhi-NCR will  remain closed till 5 November in the wake of severe air pollution due to stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab. Administration has asked citizens to stay alert and avoid going out of home without mask.