50% below normal rains in 2nd week

As the southwest monsoon moves slowly across the southern peninsula, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest report said the overall rainfall during the second week of the four-month season was almost 50 per cent less than normal.

A big impact of this less-than-normal rains so far and the preceding dry months has been on the water levels in 84 major reservoirs across the country.

Water in the reservoirs, which are vital not only for agriculture, but also for power generation, is currently at just 18 per cent of the Full Reservoir Level (FRL), perilously close to the 10-year average low of 15 per cent. Compared to the same period last year, water level in the reservoirs is almost 25 per cent less this year. FRL is estimated at 154.42 billion cubic metres.

“The storages have very low water because not only has the monsoon been poor so far, but the rains in the months preceding, have also been bad,” a senior official said. He said the country has received negligible rains since October and this was having a telling impact on the water levels.

The latest data from the Central Water Commission showed water level in almost all major reservoirs across the country, be it Gobind Sagar in Himachal Pradesh, Machkund in Orissa, Sardar Sarovar in Gujarat, Upper Vaitarna in Maharashtra, Nagarajuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh, Narayanpur in Karnataka or Mettur in Tamil Nadu, is well below last year’s level.

However, the Met department has hopes that rains would improve in the coming few days. L S Rathore, director general of IMD told Business Standard that it was still early days in this year’s monsoon season and he was hopeful of a strong recovery in the next few days. The monsoon rains are vital for farm output and economic growth as about 55 per cent of the nation’s arable land is rain-fed.

India is also one of the largest producers of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton.

IMD, in its first official forecast for 2012 southwest monsoon in April, had predicted normal rains this year. It will release its second forecast later this month.