Environment

Dark monsoon clouds over a Chennai street during heavy rain

Heavy rain till October 3: IMD sounds yellow alert across Tamil Nadu, Chennai braces for more

The India Meteorological Department has sounded a yellow alert across Tamil Nadu, warning of heavy rain with thunder, lightning and 50 km/h gusts in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Erode till October 3; Chennai is already seeing waterlogging and traffic snarls.

2 October 2026 · 1 min read

The front of the Morteratsch Glacier in south-east Switzerland, attacked this summer by warm air and meltwater.

International

Switzerland loses 5.5% of its glacier ice in one year, and nearly a fifth since 2021

A summer of heatwaves after a snow-poor winter stripped glaciers bare even at 3,500 metres. Scientists say melting that once counted as extreme at 2% a year is now routinely exceeded.

1 October 2026 · 3 min read

Fireworks over Chennai during Deepavali. The Supreme Court says it will consider fixed time windows for bursting crackers rather than allow it round the clock.

Business & Finance

Supreme Court lets Sivakasi make 'chorsa' again, as long as it is a Gen-2 green cracker

The court rejected a nationwide firecracker ban and accepted NEERI's call for a "limited and conditional relaxation" for redesigned joined crackers. Sivakasi cheered, but says mass production will have to wait for next year.

1 October 2026 · 3 min read

Boats at the Kasimedu fishing harbour in north Chennai, where boat owners, vendors, loaders and net menders have voted for an indefinite stop-work protest.

Tamil Nadu

Chennai's fishers fight on two fronts: a Secretariat on their shore and seven boats held in Andhra Pradesh

Fisherfolk from 64 villages want the government order for a new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam withdrawn, while Kasimedu's boat owners plan an indefinite strike over vessels held in Andhra Pradesh for more than 100 days.

1 October 2026 · 4 min read

Chennai's Marina coast from the air. The northeast monsoon brings the State most of its rain between October and December.

Environment

After India's driest monsoon in 11 years, Tamil Nadu pins its hopes on a 'normal' northeast monsoon

The southwest monsoon ended 13% short nationally and 20% short in Tamil Nadu. The IMD expects a normal northeast monsoon from the third week of October, but warns north interior districts may get less.

1 October 2026 · 3 min read

A fishing boat at sunrise off Uthandi, south of Chennai. The city's shore is a workplace for tens of thousands of families.

Opinion

The coast is not empty land

A new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam and seven Chennai boats held in Andhra Pradesh are two sides of one question: does the State see its fishers as citizens or as occupants of valuable sand?

30 September 2026 · 2 min read