The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued severe heatwave and heavy rainfall warnings for different parts of India over the next several days. These conditions are predicted to affect infrastructure, agriculture, and daily life, TOI reported. The IMD warned that till June severe heatwaves will hit areas like Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and portions of Karnataka. By mid-April, Delhi is expected to see temperatures as high as 40°C, breaking previous records, the newspaper reported.
More heatwave days than usual are predicted for Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, northern Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
Bihar and Jharkhand are expected to experience significant rainfall, which could lead to localised flooding and disruptions. In Karnataka, districts such as Raichur, Koppal, Gadag, Dharwad, and Haveri have been issued yellow alerts due to anticipated thunderstorms and lightning. The IMD recommended light clothing, avoiding direct sunlight during peak hours, and staying hydrated for people in heatwave-affected locations. Residents hit by high rainfall should be aware of the possibility of waterlogging, make sure that their homes have adequate drainage, and refrain from making needless trips during inclement weather, the weather office said.
40% chance of normal monsoon, 30% above normal, says Skymet in relief for cultivators
The 2025 monsoon season is likely to be in the normal category, private forecaster Skymet Weather said. The HT reported that the season is expected to lead to 103% (±5%) of the long period average (LPA) amount of rain. Last year’s monsoon was above normal at 108% of the LPA, though the nationwide figure typically masks significant regional variations with some areas experiencing flooding and others facing deficits.
The LPA for the 1971-2020 period is 87 cm, with a “normal” monsoon range defined as 96-104% of LPA. According to Skymet, there is a 40% chance of normal monsoon, 30% chance of above normal, 15% chance of below normal, and 5% chance of drought.
The newspaper continues, “the agency’s experts pointed to a favourable convergence of global climate indicators that typically influence India’s monsoon patterns: The absence of El Niño—often associated with deficient rainfall—combined with neutral conditions in the Pacific Ocean and a potentially positive phase in what is known as the Indian Ocean dipole create optimal conditions for normal to above-normal precipitation.”
Satellites underestimate power plant CO₂ emissions by 70%, study reveals
Current satellite systems underestimate total CO₂ emissions from US thermal power plants by 70% (±12%), a new study published in the Journal of Remote Sensing revealed, reported Phys.org. The research highlights gaps in remote sensing technology, including coarse spatial resolution (1.29×2.25 km² for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite, or OCO-2; 1.6×2.2 km² for OCO-3), limited precision (approximately 1 ppm), and infrequent revisit cycles (every 16 days), the outlet stated.
However, the report said, this study suggests that next-generation satellites—designed with a resolution of 0.5 km, a precision of at least 0.7 ppm, and daily monitoring capabilities—could reduce errors to below 20%, significantly improving global carbon accountability.
Thermal power generation accounted for 46% of the global increase in CO₂ emissions in 2021.
The article said while ground-based systems provide precise hourly emissions data, they lack global scalability. But satellites, including NASA’s OCO-2 and OCO-3, have difficulty detecting smaller facilities, which make up 94% of coal-fired power plants (those under 900 MW) and 97% of gas-fueled plants (those under 600 MW). The study analyzed data from 1,060 U.S. power plants using 2021 satellite data and found that existing systems captured only 29% (±12%) of total emissions, mainly from larger facilities.
March 2025 2nd-warmest on record, says Copernicus
March 2025 was the second-warmest ever globally, after March 2024, and marked the 20th month of the last 21 that saw global-average surface air temperature that exceeded 1.5°C over the pre-industrial level, according to Copernicus Climate Change Service (3CS), reported the HT.
The average surface air temperature of 14.06°C was 0.65°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.60°C above the pre-industrial level for March. Further, the 12-month period of April 2024 – March 2025 was 0.71°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 1.59°C above the pre-industrial level.
For Europe it turned out to be the warmest March ever. The average temperature over European land for March was 6.03°C, 2.41°C above the 1991-2020 average for March. Outside Europe, temperatures were most above average over large parts of the Arctic. They were also above average over the US, Mexico, parts of Asia, and Australia.
Drone-based study evaluates impact of MGNREGA farm ponds on farmers’ income in India
A first-of-its-kind initiative that maps 103 farm ponds in Bandlapalle village in Anantapur, a drought-prone district in southwestern Andhra Pradesh, with the help of drones is providing useful insights in the assessment and rejuvenation of water bodies across India, reported DTE.
Scientists used drones to survey, map and calculate the volume of water stored in these ponds and its impact on farmers’ income. These water bodies were built in 2017-18 under the central government’s rural employment scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
“Our study of 103 farm ponds, which were surveyed using drones fitted with cameras, found that these commons hold 27,810.30 cubic metres of water in Bandlapalle. This water can irrigate 25 hectares of paddy and 62 hectares of groundnut based on the calculations of water requirements for these crops,” Stutee Gupta, a scientist with NRSC, told Down To Earth (DTE).
The recent study explained how farm ponds were beneficial to farmers. “We calculated the impact of irrigating fields using water from farm ponds and found that it translates into an additional income of ₹500,600 for paddy and ₹1,034,880 for groundnut for farmers in the region,” Gupta said.
Irrigating crops through farm ponds is cheaper and eco-friendly as compared to tubewells and deep borewells. The report highlighted that MGNREGA enhanced water security in rural India. According to the Ministry of Rural Development, more than 1.8 million (1,810,754) farm ponds were built under MGNREGA across the country, between April 2014 and March 2019.
About The Author
You may also like
Climate goals overestimate forests’ carbon absorption capacity: Study
More heatwaves and hotter summer: IMD summer forecast
Between urgency and inclusion: Why the IPCC can’t agree on AR7’s timeline
Severe heat waves hit several states ‘unusually early’
Record-breaking marine heatwaves devastated oceans over past 2 years: Study
