At least four persons have been killed and 12 injured after an LPG cylinder exploded at a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in Daadhki village in Iradatnagar around midnight apparently due to leakage in the gas cylinder.

The deceased have been identified as Kamal Singh, 45, Girraj Singh, 61, Mahaveer, 40, and Om Prakash, 27.

Of the injured, the condition of three is critical, a police officer told IANS, adding the injured have been admitted to S.N. Medical College in Agra.

The explosion took place at the house of Himmat Singh. His daughter Meera was cooking when she noticed the gas leakage, and the pipe to the cylinder catching fire.

She raised an alarm, hearing which many people came to the rescue but before they could do anything, the cylinder exploded.

Due to the impact of the explosion, the two-storey house of Singh was flattened.

The Chinese Met office has issued a yellow alert for rainstorms following Typhoon Ampil making landfall in Shanghai.

Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Jiangsu, and Shandong have been battered by heavy rain in the 24-hours since Sunday noon, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The rainstorms will also hit Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai and Sichuan, Xinhua news agency reported.

There could be up to 240mm per hour of rainfall in some regions of Guangxi, Hainan, Jiangsu and Shandong, the NMC said.

Ampil is 10th typhoon to hit China in 2018. It is expected to reach east China’s Shandong Province around Monday noon before moving further north, the Met said.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red for most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

For the first time in five years, the Tungabhadra dam got filled to its maximum owing to the substantial rains in the catchment regions and the gates were opened for the release of surplus water into the river on Wednesday.

With the surplus water being released, farmers in the Tungabhadra territories are sure of getting sufficient water to raise two crops during the Kharif and the rabi season this year.

In the past four years, because of less rainfall, the dam did not get filled.

Therefore, farmers needed to fulfill themselves with just a single crop for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 and managed to get a second crop amid 2017-18 with great difficulty after the inflow enhanced after post-monsoon downpours.

On Wednesday, 11 doors were opened to release around 10,000 cusecs of water by Ranga Reddy, chairman, Tungabhadra Board. Moreover, water was likewise let into the left bank main channel and the right bank low-level canal.

Residents of at least 30 villages of Srirangapatna, Pandavapura and K R Pet taluks in the district are living in fear of floods as the water levels in the Cauvery and Hemavati are continuously rising.

The Cauvery has been brimming ever since the crest gates of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) were lifted on Saturday afternoon. The rate of discharge, which began at 20,000 cusecs, was augmented to 81,930 cusecs by Monday evening.

Meanwhile, water is being discharged from the Hemavati reservoir in Hassan at the rate of around 28,800 cusecs. The Hemavati joins the Cauvery in the district after passing through many villages of K R Pet.

India accounts for one-fifth of global deaths due to floods, according to government data that lends perspective to a new World Bank study that says climate change will lower the standards of living of nearly half of the countrys population by 2050.

As many as 107,487 people died due to heavy rains and floods across India over 64 years between 1953 and 2017, according to Central Water Commission data presented to the Rajya Sabha on March 19. Damage to crops, houses and public utilities was reported to be Rs 365,860 crore — or as much as three per cent of the country’s current GDP — the data shows.

“The main reasons of floods have been assessed as high intensity rainfall in short duration, poor or inadequate drainage capacity, unplanned reservoir regulation and failure of flood control structures,” according to a reply to the Rajya Sabha.

With heavy rains sweeping western India, many cities such as Mangaluru, Mumbai and Junagarh have flooded during the 2018 monsoon season. Over 30 people died in floods that inundated 58 villages.

“Temperatures have been rising across the [South Asia] region, and are projected to continue increasing for the next several decades under all plausible climate scenarios,” the World Bank study, published on June 28, said.

These changes will result in more frequent flooding, greater water demand and increased heat-related medical issues.

South Asian cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka and Karachi — that are home to over 50 million people — face a substantial risk of flood-related damage over the next century, the report said.

India is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change. It has increased the frequency of downpours as well as the gaps between rainy days during the monsoon, as IndiaSpend reported earlier.

As India’s climate warms, extreme weather, such as intense rain and floods, is predicted to worsen.

The new World Bank study mentioned above said the worst affected states by 2050 would be Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Seven of the 10 most affected districts will belong to Vidarbha, Maharashtra.

India could see a six-fold increase in population exposed to the risk of severe floods by 2040 — to 25 million people from 3.7 million facing this risk between 1971 and 2004, based on a study published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed journal.

“India is highly vulnerable to floods,” according to the National Disaster Management Authority, a government body. “Out of the total geographical area of 329 million hectares (mha), more than 40 mha is flood prone.”

Over 1,600 people die every year due to floods, affecting nearly 32 million people. More than 92,000 cattles are lost every year, seven million hectares of land is affected, and damage is over Rs 5,600 crore.

“High losses from floods reflect India’s inadequacy to cope with the current variability in climate, let alone future climate change,” Ashvani Kumar Gosain, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, told IndiaSpend earlier.

States that are flood-prone include West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

“Intense rains during the monsoon season cause rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganga and Yamuna to swell their banks, which in turn floods the adjacent areas,” according to this reply to the Lok Sabha on April 4.

There are 226 flood forecasting stations across 20 states, two Union territories and 19 river basins to monitor floods in the country. The government plans to expand the network to 325 stations by March 2020.

Every year during the dry season between December and March, a dirty haze appears over South Asia and China. It is a potent mixture of pollutants borne out of wood burning and crop burning, vehicular emissions and industrial combustion, christened the Asian Brown Cloud.

It is a phenomenon that is too familiar to North India in the winter, thanks to the accompanying respiratory ailments, headaches and allergic reactions. Yet, come monsoon, the brown cloud disappears. What happens to the pollutants in the rainy season?

A question that puzzled researchers for two decades has now been answered. Scientists from Germany and Cyprus have discovered that the Southwest Monsoon (also called the Indian Monsoon) cleanses a large chunk of pollutants that collect in the atmosphere. But it is not all benign — the monsoon also spreads pollution from South Asia, to other parts of the world.

Jos Lelieveld, the lead researcher and the head of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany called the Indian monsoon, two-faced, likening it to Janus, the Roman god of duality, in his paper published in the journal Science.

Every year, at the end of the summer, dark clouds gather moisture from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and move towards land. This is the approaching monsoon. But above this stormy layer, is an accompanying layer of cloud-free, clear atmosphere. This is called the anti-cyclone. Every monsoon comes with a larger layer of anti-cyclone.

While the monsoon air currents draw moisture inwards, building a dense layer of rain clouds, air currents in the anti-cyclone circulates outwards and spreads clouds and moisture over a large area. So, while the monsoon covers most of the sub-continent, its accompanying anticyclone covers a much larger area, extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

This is important, because the extent of coverage indicates how far anything caught up in these weather systems can spread.

Along with moisture, the Indian monsoon collects pollutants that have been sitting in the atmosphere throughout the dry season and pushes much of it higher up the atmosphere, into the anticyclone.

Lelieveld and his colleagues set out to find out what happened to these pollutants once they reached the anticyclone. The researchers travelled along the western part of the anticyclone, which is the sky between Cyprus and the Maldives, at an altitude between 9,000-15,000 metres above land.

For two months, the researchers measured an assortment of pollutants including Nitrogen, Sulphur and Hydrogen oxides in the anti-cyclone. It turns out the Indian monsoon pushed most of the pollutants away from our immediate atmosphere into the anticyclone.

A lot of these pollutants were then being neutralised, i.e. the toxic parts of the pollutants were being removed by chemicals that were naturally present in the anticyclone. What remained was then pushed back down towards the monsoon, where it was washed clean by rains.

Suvarna Fadnavis, an atmospheric scientist from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, said that the study revealed important new findings. “Thus, the monsoon plays an important role in cleaning the atmosphere [of pollutants] (chemically processed and removed from the atmosphere),” she said.

Clearly, the Indian monsoon was important for more than just water. But what if the monsoon itself were threatened?

Studies have indicated that monsoon could be threatened by two major forces, both man-made. One is climate change and the other increasingly being investigated is aerosol pollution. Aerosols are any solid particles that have been compressed into a gas like state, helping them rise rapidly.

Vinoj V., an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bhubaneshwar, pointed out that aerosol pollution, which has been increasing every year, could weaken the monsoon. “The hypothesis is that large amounts of aerosols over the monsoon domain especially the oceans will reduce the surface temperatures to the north of the Indian Ocean where most of these aerosols are present,” he said.

Aerosol particles could reduce the heat from the sun, cooling the oceans and reducing the amount of evaporation from the oceans. “This, in turn, is expected to reduce the moisture transport from the ocean in to the land. In such a situation, rainfall will reduce,” Vinoj explained.

However, these conclusions are not cut-and-dried according to both Fadnavis and Vinoj, who pointed out that there were several types of aerosols in the atmosphere and all their effects were not yet understood.

Whether aerosols or climate change, if the monsoon weakened, would it affect its ability to clean pollutants? “Yes,” said Lelieveld, adding simply that “the removal will become less efficient.”

Vinoj, however, felt that much would depend on the pattern of rain. “For example, continuous low intensity rainfall is more efficient in removing pollutants than a few episodes of high rainfall events,” he explained. “More rainfall over source regions may be more efficient in removing pollution than regions far from sources. So, it’s possible that pollutant concentrations will increase if rainfall decreases.”

Even if it remains strong, the study shows that we can’t depend solely on the monsoon to deal with our pollution woes. Pollutants that escaped the neutralising chemicals in the anticyclone, travelled even higher up the atmosphere, according to Lelieveld and his colleagues.

This is where the anticyclone’s spread matters. Remaining pollutants were pushed by the anticyclone’s outward bound currents and spread across the globe. Much of the leftover pollutants descended back into the breathable atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean near North America, Africa and the Mediterranean. Some even made it to the Poles.

Pollution is typically viewed as local problem, but this study seems to show that local emissions could have global impacts. While North America and Europe had reduced their levels of air pollution substantially, they could still be dealing with pollution from industries and coal burning in the developing nations of South Asia.

“With the understanding that air pollution is also related to climate on different spatio-temporal scales, it has truly become a global problem,” mused Vinoj. “Therefore, collective efforts by nations in solving the local pollution problems may have global and regional benefits in the long run.”

Heavy rains pounded Kerala on Monday disrupting normal life with more rainfall predicted till Wednesday, weather officials said.

In Alappuzha district’s Chandriroor, an uprooted tree fell on top of the last bogey of the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Mangalore Express, but there were reports of any injuries.

The train moved after a three-hour delay.

It has been raining in several districts for the past 36 hours and as a result more than 3,000 people have been rehabilitated in relief camps.

All educational institutions in eight of the 14 districts were closed on Monday and most of the university examinations were postponed.

The worst affected districts include Alappuzha, Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kottayam, Kollam and Kochi.

The Met Department has issued an alert for the coastal districts, warning fishermen not to venture in the rough seas.

Alerts were also issued in the hilly areas warning of possible landslides.

Buses to Karnataka via Wayanad district have been suspended.

State Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekheran has directed his department and the district authorities to take stock of the estimated loss.

So far three deaths have been reported.

(IANS)

Some 18,000 volunteers from all across Japan on Saturday participated in the ongoing cleanup and reconstruction efforts in western parts of the country devastated by heavy rains which left more than 200 dead and dozens of people missing.

The government has launched a volunteer programme in collaboration with local authorities to organize deployments of the volunteers and distribute work, reports Efe news.

Some 40 volunteer centers have been established in the prefectures of Ehime, Okayama, and Hiroshima, located in western Japan where the rains caused maximum havoc, to manage the efforts of the nearly 18,000 volunteers.

The record torrential rains falling since July 6 in almost half of the Japanese archipelago have so far left 204 dead and some 40 missing, according to the latest official data.

Some 160 homes were destroyed and another 700 suffered significant damage from floods and landslides triggered by the rains, while some 5,800 people continue to be evacuated.

The precarious condition of the terrain due to numerous landslides coupled with the areas that are waterlogged are hindering road access to many of the affected locations, complicating the search for the missing and assistance for evacuees.

One person was killed and normal life disrupted in many areas on Saturday as, for the second time this week, torrential rains lashed the Mumbai suburbs, and adjoining districts of Thane, Raigad and Palghar, officials said.

At least five picnickers went missing and another 30 were rescued from a picturesque hilly picnic spot, Chinchoti Falls in Palghar district.

An aerial search with helicopters and a NDRF team from here have launched a rescue operation to trace the missing persons.

Usha Sawant, 40, was electrocuted and her daughter Kumari, 5, injured following a short-circuit in their house in PMGP Colony in suburban Mankhurd.

The Central Railway suburban and long distance train traffic was again hit after at least three signal poles fell down in the rains.

It diverted two trains on the Mumbai-Pune sector and cancelled three services due to the downpour which continued till evening.

Though streams and water bodies adjoining the Western Railway were swollen, there was no major impact on the train traffic.

Large parts of towns like Palghar, Boisar, Dahanu, Saphale, Virar, Vasai, Kalyan, Ambernath, Badlapur, Vidyavihar, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Karjat, Pali and surrounding villages experienced flooding or heavy waterlogging, throwing traffic movement out of gear.

The busy Mumbai-Goa Highway was blocked for over three hours due to landslides or tree crashes resulting in massive traffic jams over several kilometres, and peoples’ weekend getaway plans went haywire.

A majority of the big and small rivers in western and coastal parts of the state including the Savitri River, were overflowing, with flood waters running into surrounding villages.

The famed hill stations of Matheran (Raigad) and Mahabaleshwar (Satara), Khandala (Pune) received heavy rains and over 10,000 people jostled in traffic snarls to visit the Bhushi Dam in neighbouring twin-hill station of Lonavala which received 160 mm rains.

While Matheran and Karjart in Raigad received around 190 mm and 150 mm respectively, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani 160 mm, Murbad in Thane was inundated under 220 mm, and Wada in Palghar with 230 mm.

The IMD said most places in the Palghar, Thane and Raigad received an average of around 110-200 mm rains in the past 24 hours.

It has also forecast heavy to very heavy rains in Mumbai and adjoining districts over the next 24-48 hours, besides in places like Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nanded, Akola, Wardha, Chandrapure and the coastal Konkan.

The death toll from devastating floods resulting from torrential rains pounding Japan has increased to 104, with 56 others reported missing, authorities said on Monday.

The rains since July 5, especially in the western prefecture of Hiroshima and the southwestern prefecture of Ehime, caused floods and landslides that destroyed thousands of houses and completely cut off several towns, reports Efe news.

In Hiroshima prefecture, at least 42 people died in accidents caused by the heavy downpour and another three were seriously injured.

Another 23 people were killed in Ehime, according to latest official figures.

Some 73,000 troops of the Japan Self-Defence Forces, police and firefighters are still working on search and rescue operations, said government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga.

Seven helicopters have also been deployed to rescue people, who took shelter on terraces and roofs of buildings to escape the flooding at a press conference.

The search for the missing is underway, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Over two million people have been asked to evacuate from their homes.

About 364 mm of rain fell in some two hours over the weekend in the city of Uwajima — approximately 1.5 times the average monthly rainfall for July, according to NHK.

Sukumo city in Kochi prefecture received 263 mm of rain in almost the same period of time.

Transportation services have been severely disrupted since the rains began on July 5, with Shinkansen bullet train services partially suspended in most parts of western Japan and major arterial highways partially closed.

Manufacturing was also hit hard by the heavy downpour and flooding, as major carmakers such as Mazda Motor Corp and Mitsubishi Motors Corp and manufacturer such as Panasonic Corp suspending operations at some plants in western Japan.

The rains are the deadliest to hit Japan since August 2014, when 77 people died in Hiroshima.