Weather app by India Met Dept

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has launched a mobile application by which the latest weather forecasts will be available through mobile phones.
A team of experts at IMD have developed the application titled “Indian weather” which can be downloaded free of cost from Google Play on Android based smart phones and tablets.
This weather forecasting is location specific and in the next eight months, IMD hopes to make this service available on other phones also.
The IMD will also provide four-day forecasts from its met stations in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai on a near real-time basis.
Congratulating the IMD on the occasion of the launch, Jaipal Reddy, minister of science and technology expressed satisfaction that agromet advisories provided through SMS were reaching 33 lakh farmers but maintained this information must be extended to all farmers.
Mr Reddy expressed the hope that Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) take the lead in making Indian agriculture more resilient to changing weather patterns. He also hoped that the “Monsoon Mission of the organisation would take a leap forward since discernible improvement in prediction of monsoon would be a great support to the farmers.”
While the computing power of IMD’s weather prediction has increased at 25 km resolution which compares well with the European Centre which runs at 16 km resolution, it needed to get more error free, the minister said. Dr LS Rathore, IMD director general maintained that more value-added services would be added in the coming months.

Rainfall, hail and snow hit north India; MeT office warns of more

Rainfall, hail and snow hit north India; MeT office warns of more

New Delhi: Rain and snowfall continue to lash north India, pulling down the mercury with the inclement weather likely to continue in the coming days. It was a chilly day for Delhiites after a spell of relatively warm weather as intermittent rain lashed parts of the city and the maximum dropped to 19.3 degrees Celsius from 26.3 degrees on Monday.

In Kashmir, a fresh bout of snowfall lashed parts of the Valley while Srinagar witnessed rain which marginally brought down the minimum to 2.2 degrees Celsius as against 4.1 degrees the previous night. The summer capital received 2.6mm rainfall during the night. Picturesque Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of -5 degrees Celsius, two notches up from the previous night's -7 degrees, and received 11 inches of fresh snowfall.

The MeT office has forecast heavy snowfall across the Valley over the coming few days with road and air traffic likely to face disruptions. Himachal Pradesh was reeling from intense cold after another spell of heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the state while the middle and lower hills, including state capital Shimla, were lashed by rain and sleet accompanied by icy, strong velocity winds.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti and Kalpa in Kinnaur district had received 35cm to 40cm snow by afternoon while the sprawling Dhauladhar and Churdhar ranges were covered under 75cm to 100cm of snow. The snowfall and rain has thrown normal life out of gear in several parts of the state including at Dharamsala.

The sky remained heavily overcast throughout the day and the local MeT has warned of more rains and snowfall in the next two days. Uttarakhand, too, saw snowfall in the higher reaches and showers in its plains as temperatures dropped at most places in the state.

The mercury in the state capital of Dehradun plunged by four degrees as most places were lashed by moderate to heavy rainfall with Joshimath receiving the maximum of 33mm followed by Chamoli at 21mm. Heavy snowfall occurred at heights above 3,000 metres at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri with similar weather conditions forecast for the state in the coming 24 hours.

Several parts of Punjab and Haryana also reported light to moderate rainfall as minimum temperatures rose sharply by up to eight notches above normal in the two states. Chandigarh received rainfall of 3.8mm and recorded a minimum of 13.7 degrees while in Haryana, Bhiwani, with rainfall of 4.6mm saw the mercury settle at a low of 10.4 degrees Celsius.

The weatherman's forecast is for light to moderate rainfall to continue over the coming 48 hours with chances of hail or thunderstorm at isolated places across the two states. Light rain and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in western Uttar Pradesh although the weather remained mainly dry over eastern parts of the state.

Night temperatures rose markedly in Lucknow, Bareilly, Moradabad, Agra and Meerut divisions with rain and thundershowers expected at many places in western UP and at a few places in eastern parts of the state in the next 48 hours.

Rajasthan reported some relief today as the cold subsided in parts of the state where Sri Ganganagar recorded the lowest temperature at 11.2 degrees Celsius. Other places recorded minimum temperatures between 13 degrees to 17.3 degrees Celsius with the MeT department predicting light showers in isolated areas.

Record-Breaking Rains Lash Delhi

PTI PHOTO/ SHAHBAZ KHAN Record-Breaking Rains Lash Delhi

Moderate to heavy rains lashed north India today breaking a five-decade record in Delhi and disrupting normal life while a fresh bout of snowing in hill states cut off many high altitude areas.

Heavy showers accompanied by thunderstorms, which started last night in the national capital, broke all records for a single day's rainfall in the month of February for the last 50 years.

Waterlogging caused by heavy showers led to traffic snarls across the city with the MeT department predicting more rains in the coming two days in Delhi.

The city had received 50mm rain by 10 A.M. Today and MeT Director BP Yadav told PTIthat it was, "the highest rainfall in 24 hours (recorded) in the month of February over the last 50 years".

The minimum temperature was recorded at 13.5 degrees, five notches above normal while the maximum was at 18.6 degrees, which was four degrees below normal.

Rains also lashed Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as well as hill states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, which received snowfall in the higher reaches.

It was a wet day in Kashmir as well as rains continued to lash Srinagar and other parts of the Valley along with snowfall at several places for the second day running.

Night temperatures across the Valley dipped further with Srinagar recording a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius as against the previous night's 2.2 degrees. The summer capital received 12mm rainfall during the night.

Gulmarg got a foot of fresh snowfall as well as 17mm rainfall and recorded a low of -5 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night.

In Himachal Pradesh, the higher reaches continued to receive heavy snowfall while the middle and lower hills were lashed by intermittent heavy rain and sleet accompanied by icy, strong velocity winds.

The heavy snowfall aggravated the avalanche threat and people in the high-altitude areas have been advised to stay indoors till the weather improved.

The rain and sleet, on the other hand, triggered numerous landslides which rendered several interior areas cut off from the rest of the state.

Road access to the tourist resort of Manali, too, was blocked after it received 60cm snow in the last 48 hours while traffic was curtailed on the Hindustan-Tibet National Highway.

Uttarakhand, too, was in for inclement weather as widespread showers in the plains and heavy snowfall in the higher reaches for the second consecutive day pushed down temperatures in the state.

Tehri received the highest rainfall in the state of 61.8mm followed by Dehradun and Mussoorie which recorded 43.2mm and 30mm, respectively.

Mukteshwar shivered at 1.2 degrees Celsius and the MeT office predicted similar weather conditions over the coming days, adding that temperatures could see a further drop of 4-5 degrees.

In the plains, moderate to heavy rainfall was reported in many places in western Uttar Pradesh and some places in the eastern districts with Muzaffarnagar recording 12cm rainfall followed by 7cm each in Bijnore, Hamirpur and Unnao.

Several places in Punjab and Haryana, too, complained of waterlogging and traffic snarls after being lashed by rains while minimum temperatures rose by up to eight notches above normal across both states.

Chandigarh received rainfall of 11.5mm and recorded a minimum of 13.1 degrees Celsius, which was up six notches from the normal.

Rajasthan, too, reported overnight showers with Pilani receiving 15.