Monsoon covers country ahead of schedule; rain deficiency in 14 states
1 min read 03 Jul 2023, 05:55 PM ISTBelow normal rains have hit sowing operation, with Kharif acreage nearly 1% lower year-on-year at 20.3 million hectare. As of 30 June, crop sowing was 10% lower in Maharashtra, 12% lower in Karnataka, and around 3% lower in Telangana
PremiumNew Delhi: The crucial southwest monsoon may have covered the entire country by 2 July, six days ahead of schedule, but 14 states continue to report rainfall deficiency.
These states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, are key producers of Kharif crops.
In the season so far, that began 1 June, rainfall deficiency in Andhra Pradesh stands at 34%, Telangana and Karnataka have received 51% and 48% below-normal rains, respectively, in Maharashtra and Jharkhand rainfall has been 30% below normal, in Chhattisgarh at 22%, while deficiency in Bihar stands at 25%, and in Odisha at 29%, as per data from India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand Bihar and Odisha are major growers of Kharif rice, and Maharashtra and Karnataka are among the largest producers of sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds and pulses and maize, cotton, pulses and oilseeds.
Below normal rains have hit sowing operation, with Kharif acreage nearly 1% lower year-on-year at 20.3 million hectare. As of 30 June, crop sowing was 10% lower in Maharashtra, 12% lower in Karnataka, and around 3% lower in Telangana.
After making a delayed onset over Kerala and subdued progress thereafter, the monsoon current rapidly advanced last week, bringing down the all-India rainfall deficiency to 8% of long period average (LPA) on Monday from 47% about a fortnight ago.
IMD has forecast that rains in July, which account for nearly 40% of total monsoon precipitation, could be around 100% of LPA.
As a cyclonic circulation lies over northwest Uttar Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels, the weather department has forecast heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand in the next five days and eastern Uttar Pradesh till Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday and Thursday.
Another cyclonic circulation, which lies over southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal may cause heavy to very heavy falls over Meghalaya today and on Tuesday and in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Gangetic West Bengal today, over Bihar, Jharkhand until Wednesday and over Odisha from Wednesday to Friday, the IMD said.
