Coastal and south interior K'taka on orange alert as IMD predicts heavy rains in the upcoming week
Bengaluru: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for coastal and south interior Karnataka, as heavy rainfall is predicted in the state during the upcoming week.
According to the IMD, coastal Karnataka and some districts in the Maland region will experience heavy rainfall, including isolated pockets of very heavy rainfall, starting from Monday.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru and other districts in south interior Karnataka are expected to receive heavy rainfall from Tuesday onwards. The orange alert will remain in effect until June 6.
This forecast is likely to benefit agricultural activities in the state, as the initial month of the monsoon season in June witnessed a significant rainfall deficit, causing setbacks in sowing.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) stated that Karnataka received less than half of the normal rainfall for the month of June. In terms of figures, the state received only 92 mm of rainfall, whereas the average for June is 208 mm, resulting in a shortfall of 56 percent.
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The deficiency was particularly prominent in the Maland districts located in the Western Ghats, which serve as crucial starting point areas for rivers in the state. These districts received a mere 102 mm of rainfall, which is less than a third of the normal 384 mm for June. At the same time, coastal districts experienced a deficit of 55 percent, recording 389 mm of rainfall in contrast to the average of 873 mm.
The improved monsoon conditions are expected to boost inflows into the state's reservoirs, which are currently holding water just slightly above the dead storage limit. Due to insufficient rainfall in June, the inflows into reservoirs across the state have been less.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
