National Drought Fears Loom as India Gets Deficient Rainfall up to June 18,2014

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest report, has highlighted the weak and delayed onset of the monsoon.

An analysis for the period from June 1-18 showed that rainfall has been deficient across the country. The cumulative rainfall across the country has so far been 45 per cent below the Long Period Average (LPA) for 1951-2000.

A further breakdown of rain data recorded in different meteorological subdivisions shows that normal rainfall has been recorded in only seven of the 36 regions. It has been deficient in 18 and scanty in 10 subdivisions. Only one subdivision reported excess rain.

The country received around 43mm of rainfall, which is much below the normal level of 78mm.

In central India - which includes Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa and Orissa - only 31.7mm rainfall has been recorded so far this month, which is 52 % below the Long Period Average (LPA). The normal level of rain for this region is 66.2mm.

The northwestern region has suffered enormously, receiving only 13.6mm of rainfall, way below the normal level of 28.7mm.

Even the southern states have received only 64mm, down from the 87.6mm that is normal for the region. The period between June 12 and 18 was particularly bad, with the entire country reporting deficient or scanty rain across the board.

Not only has the rainfall been deficient, the progress of the monsoon has been slow. It is still to reach places in central Madhya Pradesh and Saurashtra, where it should have entered by now.

Eastern India fared comparatively better, but deficiency in the southern peninsula and central India has set alarm bells ringing.