Two people were killed and over two dozen injured on Tuesday evening when a strong rain-bearing monsoon weather system hit Karachi, witnesses and hospital sources said. The year's first monsoon showers also wreaked havoc on the Karachi Electric Supply Company's frail distribution network, which was already reeling after it collapsed following a light drizzle late Monday night.

A 30-year-old woman was killed when the wall of her house at Pahar Ganj collapsed. The body was brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where she was identified as Sakina.

It's argued that deforestation has made climate change worse. The town of Cherrapunjee, in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya, is reputed to be the wettest place in the world. But there are signs that its weather patterns may be being hit by global climate change.

Major rivers, including the Padma and the Jamuna, continued to swell Monday, disrupting ferry services and overflowing banks in some districts, where fresh areas went under water.
At least one death was reported as surging water inundated more villages and washed away parts of river banks, according to reports reaching from Manikganj and Faridpur districts.
Stranded vehicles stood in long queues for hours on the both sides of the Padma river as pontoons at Paturia-Daulatdia ferry ghats sank.

A low pressure off South Orissa and North Andhra Pradesh coast triggered heavy rains in the City and over many parts of the State on Sunday.

The system is likely to become more marked and cause widespread rain over South Orissa during the next two to three days. The Met department said heavy to very heavy rains are likely over some parts of Orissa in the next 48 hours.

Under the influence of the system, Balangir got 4 cm rain, highest for the day, while Bhubaneswar received as much. Puri recorded 3 cm rain.

Mumbaikars may wake up to another wet spell on Monday as the weather bureau has warned of very heavy showers in the next 48 hours.

"Intermittent rain or thundershowers with possibility of heavy to very heavy rain in parts of city and suburbs is expected during next 48 hours,' K Sathidevi, deputy director of Regional Meteorological Centre said.

A landslide at Kapaswadi in Kurla injured one Wasima Sheikh Hassan, who was taken to Sion Hospital. The civic authorities have asked people living in the affected area to move to safer places.

Children walk on tracks after rain disrupted rail traffic in Ranchi on Thursday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, July 22: Heavy rain lashed the state capital today, inundating several areas and swamping railway tracks.

Movement of several trains was affected, though the situation was not as alarming as it was in Jamshedpur when it experienced record rainfall in a day in June.

The Ranchi-Lohardaga railway tracks at Ranchi Junction were waterlogged.

Chandan Kishore Kant / Mumbai July 22, 2008, 0:28 IST
Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP contributed over 60 per cent of the total output in 2007-08.

Poor rains are playing havoc with cotton production in central India

In the rainy season every year when the weather remains overcast and the sun rarely shines, dissolved oxygen in fish farms decreases to a lethal level which may cause mass scale fish mortality leading to huge financial losses due to collapse of the fish crop.

Director General, Fisheries Punjab Dr Muhammad Ayub told APP here on Sunday that in such circumstances, fish farmers are advised to reduce manuring and feeding to half, especially during the peak rainy season, and to maintain water level up to five feet at least, according to a press release.

BHUBANESWAR: As inflation has touched almost 12 percent mark and prediction of an erratic monsoon doing the rounds, it seems, crop yield in this kharif season may be less than expected.

With rise in petroleum prices, farm inputs have gone up but if the monsoon plays truant, then the production would be affected much.