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Monsoon Flooding Closes Schools and Offices in India’s Southern IT Hubs

People use a boat on a flooded street to reach safer place during heavy rains in Chennai, India, Wednesday, Oct.16, 2024. (AP)
People use a boat on a flooded street to reach safer place during heavy rains in Chennai, India, Wednesday, Oct.16, 2024. (AP)
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Monsoon Flooding Closes Schools and Offices in India’s Southern IT Hubs

People use a boat on a flooded street to reach safer place during heavy rains in Chennai, India, Wednesday, Oct.16, 2024. (AP)
People use a boat on a flooded street to reach safer place during heavy rains in Chennai, India, Wednesday, Oct.16, 2024. (AP)

Schools, colleges and government offices were shut Wednesday in parts of southern India as heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding.

The worst-hit cities included Chennai and Bengaluru, the country’s industrial and information technology hubs. Power cuts and flight cancellations caused disruption, and thousands of residents prepared for more downpours over the next 48 hours.

The June-September monsoon season has receded in northern parts of the country. However, the northeast monsoon has brought heavy rains to coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and southern Karnataka state. At least 33 people died last month in rains and floods.

Residents of the high-security Poes Garden area in Chennai, where top politicians, industrialists and celebrities live, woke up to severe flooding following overnight rains. Television images showed people struggling through traffic congestion in knee-deep floodwaters.

The India Meteorological Department said that winds of 60 kph (37 mph) were expected to lash the southern region until Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu state government said more than 200 boats and disaster response teams have been deployed and schools, colleges and government offices were closed.

Disasters caused by landslides and floods are common in South Asia. Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavier rains in recent years.

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Record Cold Grips Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region. SEBASTIAN LOSADA / AFP
The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region. SEBASTIAN LOSADA / AFP
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Record Cold Grips Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region. SEBASTIAN LOSADA / AFP
The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region. SEBASTIAN LOSADA / AFP

A polar air mass has brought record low temperatures to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, causing at least 15 deaths and forcing governments to restrict gas supplies and activate emergency shelters.

The three South American countries have all recorded sharply below-zero temperatures as the polar air originated from Antarctica and swept across the region, said AFP.

In Argentina, at least nine homeless people have died from the cold this winter, according to NGO Proyecto 7.

The capital Buenos Aires recorded its lowest temperature since 1991 at -1.9 degrees Celcius (28.6 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, while the coastal city of Miramar saw snow for the first time in 34 years. Further south, the town of Maquinchao recorded -18C on Tuesday.

Electricity demand caused cuts across Buenos Aires, leaving thousands without power for over 24 hours in some areas.

The government suspended gas supplies to industries and petrol stations Wednesday to ensure household supplies, and removed price controls on gas cylinders Thursday.

Desert snow

Uruguay declared a nationwide "red alert" after six people died, allowing President Yamandu Orsi's government to forcibly move homeless people to shelters.

Montevideo recorded its lowest maximum temperature since 1967 at 5.8C on June 30, according to meteorologist Mario Bidegain.

Chile also activated homeless shelter plans during the coldest days. The city of Chillan, 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Santiago, hit -9.3C, according to the Chilean Meteorological Directorate.

"What happened this week in Chile and the Southern Cone in general is a cold wave caused by an escape of a polar air mass from Antarctica," climatologist Raul Cordero from the University of Santiago told AFP.

Snow even fell in parts of the Atacama Desert, the world's driest, for the first time in a decade.

"It is not so common for these cold air masses to extend so far north, so we cannot rule out that this is also caused by climate change," meteorologist Arnaldo Zuniga told AFP.

The region expects relief in the coming days, with Buenos Aires reaching 12C on Thursday, Montevideo 14C and Santiago 24.7C.

"I was quite surprised by the change from cold to hot -- the change was very drastic," student Dafne Naranjo, 18, said in Santiago.

Climatologist Cordero said heatwaves have become more frequent than cold spells in recent years.

"The frequency of heatwaves has tripled, whether in summer or winter, not only in the Southern Cone but throughout the world," he said.