Monsoon picks up pace, weekly rainfall up by 11%: IMD

Data collected pertained to the week ending on July 19

The south-west monsoon showed strong signs of revival across parts of the country with the week ending on July 19, recording 11 per cent excess rainfall.
 

According to the latest weather update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), India received 75.3 millimetres (mm) of rainfall from July 12 to July 19. According to the IMD, the country was expected to witness 67.6 mm of rainfall.

The surplus showers in the central and western parts of the country pushed the overall average into the positive territory, taking the cumulative average for the whole season, as on July 19, 1 per cent above the normal estimate. 

The revival should boost planting of oilseed crops mainly soybean and groundnut in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Deficient rainfall from June-end onwards had pulled back the pace of sowing of kharif crops, particularly soybean and groundnut.

Data furnished by the department of agriculture showed that the area covered under soybean cultivation was almost 12 per cent less than the year-ago period, based on figures until July 14, this year. During the same period, the area covered under groundnut cultivation decreased by 8 per cent, when compared to the same season last year.

However, with the rains showing a strong revival in central and western parts of the country, all this could change in the subsequent weeks.

The surplus rain would also help in replenishing the water reservoirs by increasing overall water levels by at least 2 per cent, as compared to last week.

The IMD data also showed that rainfall was normal in almost 71 per cent of the country, while the remaining 29 per cent suffered from deficient monsoon showers in the given week.