June ends with 11% rainfall deficiency

The gradual pick-up in the southwest monsoon, mainly over the western parts of the country, narrowed the overall deficit to just 11 per cent in June, down from around 15% nearly a week ago. 

This deficit is expected to further go down in the next few weeks as rains reach the northern parts of country, particularly Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The national capital of Delhi, meanwhile, had another round of pre-monsoon showers on Thursday, which momentarily brought down the humidity levels that were hovering around 45-79%. 

The southwest monsoon might reach the city in the next 48-72 hours, a senior Met department official said. The weatherman has forecast overcast conditions along with the possibility of rain for Friday as well.

“Above-normal rainfall activity likely over north India during first week and over central India during second week of July. Western parts of the country are likely to receive above-normal rainfall activity during second week. West coast likely to receive above-normal rainfall till July 10,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest weather update. 

The pick-up in showers also kept the water level in reservoirs at their last-week levels. The water level in more than 90-odd reservoirs was around 15% of their full capacity for the week. 

Meanwhile, IMD data showed that in east and Northeast India, monsoon was deficient by 28%, while the deficiency was 17% and 7% in central and northwest India respectively.

The Northern Limit of Monsoon, the northernmost boundary up to which the rains have advanced on any given day, continues to pass through Dwarka, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Sawai Madhopur, Gwalior, Lucknow, Pantnagar, Dehradun, Una and Jammu. It is expected to cover Delhi, Haryana and Punjab in the next two days.

June to September is considered as the rainfall season in India. According to the IMD forecast, after two consecutive bad rainfall seasons, this monsoon will be “above normal”.

However, some more positive news is in the offing. El Nino, which is related to sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, is in “neutral” condition. The phenomena had hampered the monsoon last year and was also a reason for a warmer winter.

“Madden Julian Oscillation is currently over Maritime Continent and is strong in amplitude, which is favourable for active monsoon conditions over central and north India,” the IMD said.