India records 1 per cent excess rain

The country has for now received 594mm rainfall, which is against the normal of 586.7mm. This is in an excess of 1 per cent. Though, this is the result mainly because the heavy rainfall is concentrated along the Western Ghats and central India.

Both eastern Rajasthan and western Madhya Pradesh have received approximately 36 per cent of excess rains. According to the latest forecast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) projected more widespread rainfall over eastern Rajasthan in the next two days.

The monsoon rage has ravaged parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, which has killed more than 200 people and lead to large-scale destruction. However, eastern states including Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal as well as parts of western Uttar Pradesh have remained rain deficient.

The four-month monsoon season is particularly critical for the farm economy as it takes part in irrigation of more than 55 percent of agricultural land.

The expanding regional gap has been a major characteristic of the ongoing monsoon season. According to the IMD, cumulatively, 84 per cent of the country’s areas have received above normal rainfall but the remaining 16 per cent remain rain deficient.

The Konkan-Goa region and Madhya Maharashtra is facing continuous heavy rains whereas the eastern districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha have remained relatively dry.

The same is the case in Tamil Nadu where at least 15 of the 35 districts are witnessing a deficit, while four—Nilgiri, Tirupur, Teni and Tirunelveli—have documented up to 80 per cent excess rains. SA large variations were also recorded in Uttar Pradesh, where the western districts are rain facing scarcity.

According to the data provided by IMD, as many as 20 of the total 36 sub-divisions have observed normal rains this season, but rainfall remains deficient in eight others—Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rayalaseema, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Marathwada and Himachal Pradesh.

The storage available in the 107 reservoirs observed by the Central Water Commission stood at 106 billion cubic metres (BCM), compared with 85.4BCM in the same period last year. However, storage in the 17 reservoirs in the eastern region comprising Jharkhand, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal is less than last year.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.