Monsoon makes strong start with 31% more rainfall in first 14 days

The forecasts showed that barring the Northeast and eastern India, the rainfall in all the other regions will be towards the higher side of the 'normal'

The southwest monsoon has made a strong start this year, with India receiving almost 31 per cent excess rainfall in the first fortnight (June 1-June 14) of the season that lasts from June to September.

While central India alone received 94 per cent more rainfall than normal during the period, southern peninsula received 20 per cent excess rainfall. This was followed by 19 per cent excess rainfall in northwest India.

The central India subdivision covers states of Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, while the southern Peninsula subdivision consists of Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

However, rainfall in east and northeast India, comprising states like Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha, received 4 per cent less rainfall during the period.

Overall, the country normally receives around 57.8 millimeters (mm) rainfall in the first 14 days of the monsoon season, however, this year it has so far received 75.8 mm rainfall.

 

 

Encouraged by the good progress of monsoon, farmers in several parts of Madhya Pradesh have started sowing of soybean — the main oilseed crop of the region.
 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its daily forecast said the conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of the North Arabian Sea, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and some parts of East Uttar Pradesh during the next 48 hours.

On Sunday, it covered the whole of Maharashtra, advanced into more parts of Gujarat and reached Chhattisgarh. The IMD this month upgraded its forecast for 2020 to 102 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) from the 100 per cent in April.

The forecast is with a model error of plus or minus 4 per cent.

The forecast showed that barring northeast and eastern India, the rainfall in all the other regions will be towards the higher side of “normal”.

Northwest India, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, is projected to get “above normal” rainfall at 107 per cent of the LPA.

The IMD said central India, most of which is rainfed, is expected to get rainfall equivalent to 103 per cent of its LPA. Southern India may get rainfall equal to 102 per cent of the LPA. East and northeast India are expected to get 96 per cent rainfall of the LPA.

The IMD classifies rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of the LPA as “normal” and between 104 and 110 per cent as “above normal”. Rainfall between 90 and 95 per cent is categorised as “below normal”.

Though, the cumulative LPA for the four-month season is 88 cm, there can be regional variations. In July, the rains would be 103 per cent of the LPA, while in August it will be 97 per cent, said the meteorological department.

Nafed procures 25K tonnes of onion for stock

Nafed on Sunday said it had procured 25,000 tonnes of onion so far from farmer producer organisations (FPOs), cooperatives and direct purchase centres at the prevailing rates for creating a buffer stock on behalf of the government. 

It plans to buy 100,000 tonnes of key kitchen staple from major states. It has purchased 25,000 tonnes at the prevailing rates. Onion is being bought from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh from FPOs. PTI