One-third of India sees deficit rainfall over a month after monsoon arrival

Currently, the deficient rainfall districts fall in 11 sub-meteorological divisions constituting 31% of the country’s area. However, 18 sub-meteorological divisions covering 53% of the country are under average category rainfall.Ajeet Pandey, 34, a paddy farmer from Bihar’s Patna district, is dejected over the monsoon’s poor performance so far. In June, Patna recorded 77% rainfall deficit, whereas in Bihar, the overall deficit was 50%. In July, monsoon wind gained strength and minimised the overall huge gap to -31%. Yet, Bihar’s 15 districts registered deficient rainfall.“Unlike in June, we saw good monsoon over the first week of July. But then after it started waning, denting our hope to grow paddy timely,” he said.Scientists at the IMD said the monsoon will regain strength after July 16. However, it will be primarily active in the Southern Peninsula, Central India and Western India.The impact of deficient monsoon is also visible on the water storage level of the country’s 150 major reservoirs. The overall storage position is less than the corresponding period of last year in the country and also less than the normal storage (10 years average).



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