Ahmedabad/Pune: Alarm bells rang throughout Gujarat, as cyclone Phet intensified to a very severe cyclonic storm causing strong winds, thunderstorm and rainfall across the state in a dramatic switch from the sweltering heat on Wednesday. Phet could possibly hit Gujarat coast on Friday, the weatherman warned.

A high alert has been sounded in the coastal districts of Gujarat following development of a cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea which brought rains in many places in the State on Wednesday.

2 Die In Storm-Hit Rajkot, Dramatic Change In Ahmedabad Weather

NEW DELHI: The deep depression over the Arabian Sea has intensified into a cyclonic storm. But it remains stationary 1,100 km west-south-west off Mumbai, 1,030 km off Naliya in the Kutch region of Gujarat and 1,100 km south-south-west off Karachi.

A low pressure area that formed over Arabian Sea Monday has intensified into a cyclone heading towards Gujarat in the next three days and may bring heavy rains along the west coast, officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) today said.

The much-awaited southwest monsoon finally hit the Kerala coast on Monday. Over the next few days, the coastal areas are likely to experience more rainfall than the interior parts of peninsular India due to a storm developing in the Arabian sea.

Kakinada, May 31: The general public of East Godavari will shortly heave a sigh of relief from the scorching heat, as their eagerly-awaited seasonal monsoon rains are likely to reach the district in five to six days.

New Delhi: In India, crops worth millions of rupees are lost every year because of weather-related problems like floods and droughts. The central government runs a weather-based crop insurance scheme in some states to save farmers from vagaries of nature.

New Delhi, May 28: March and April were the hottest months in the past 100 years and May has also been warmer than normal with severe heat conditions prevailing in many parts of North India, the Indian meteorological department (IMD) said on Friday.

P. Sunderarajan

NEW DELHI: The stage is finally set for the onset of the monsoon over Kerala. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said conditions were favourable for the onset in the next three to four days.