Cyclone Ockhi forms in Bay of Bengal; TN, Kerala brace for severe thunderstorms

Agencies

November 30, 2017

Nov 30: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a cyclone warning for Lakshadweep islands and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, saying the regions will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours, according to media reports.

According to an IMD press release, a depression has formed over the Comorin area, about 240 kilometres from Galle in Sri Lanka, and 170 kilometres southeast of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

The depression will intensify further into a cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours, the IMD added.

It was likely to move northwest-wards in the next two days and under its influence, heavy to very heavy rains were likely in one or two places in south Tamil Nadu such as Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Viruthunagar, it said.

Heavy rains were also likely in parts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, it added.

Further, strong winds reaching 45-55 kilometres per hour were likely to hit south Tamil Nadu in the next 48 hours and the sea would be rough, it said.

Along with rains, thunderstorms and heavy winds, thunder and lightning are also likely in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, The Indian Express reported.

If formed, the cyclone would be named 'Ockhi' and would also be the first tropical storm of the season to develop in the Arabian Sea, according to Skymetweather.

The Tamil Nadu government has taken several precautionary measures to minimise the damage.

According to The Quint, a holiday has been declared for schools in Tuticorin, Tiruvarur, Nellai, and Pudukkottai, while according to India Today, schools will remain closed in Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts as well.

The ferry service to Vivekananda Rock in Kanyakumari has been suspended, according to The Hindu.

Heavy rainfall was witnessed on Thursday morning, resulting in an increase in water levels at Papanasam, Servalar, Manimuthar and Kodumudiyar dams, the report added.

The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Agency (SDMA) also tweeted photos of Kanyakumari administration clearing uprooted trees from major roads. The area received about 34 millimetres of average rainfall, the SDMA added.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) weather data at 5.30 pm on Wednesday, Pamban in Ramanathapuram district recorded 2.9 centimetres of rainfall, followed by Karaikal at 2.6 centimetres.

Fishermen too have been advised not to venture into the sea along the coast of south Tamil Nadu during next 48 hours.

After Chennai was hit by heavy rain last month and faced severe flooding, the civic body set up a control room to monitor the situation.

A month ago, Chennai received 93 percent more showers than normal in the period between 1 October and 4 November, killing eight persons. Schools, colleges and offices were closed regularly, while and train services too were affected.

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Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

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