Heavy rainfall across large parts of India has compensated for the June deficit, bringing the overall monsoon precipitation into the surplus category, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD has forecasted more spells of heavy to very heavy rain over northwest India and the western parts of the peninsular India during the next two to three days, and over the northeast during the next five days.
India, the world's top producer of critical crops such as rice, wheat, and sugarcane, recorded an 11 percent rainfall deficit in June, with northwest India experiencing a shortfall of 33 percent. However, heavy rain in the first week of July compensated for the shortfall but caused flooding in many northeastern states.
Since the four-month monsoon season began on June 1, the country has received 214.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 213.3 mm, according to IMD data. Northwest India and the southern peninsula have recorded 3 percent and 13 percent above-normal rainfall, respectively.
The heavy rain in the east and northeast regions has reduced the deficit from 13 percent on June 30 to zero on July 6. The rainfall deficit in central India has decreased from 14 percent to 6 percent during this period.
IMD data revealed that 23 percent of the sub-divisional area of the country experienced excess to large excess rainfall, 67 percent received normal rainfall, and only 10 percent experienced deficient rainfall.
After making an early onset over Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, and progressing normally up to Maharashtra, the monsoon lost momentum.
This delayed the rains in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, exacerbating the impact of a scorching heatwave in northwest India.
Follow us
