Monsoon to hit coast this week

The June-September monsoon, that feed more than 60 per cent of Indian farm field, is set to touch Orissa coast by June 12, said Surya Narayan Patro, minister for revenue and disaster management, Government of Orissa today.

Patro said, the state has been getting normal and near normal monsoon rains for past five years, barring extremely low rainfalls in some pockets of the state last year.

The weather officials said the summer temperatures in the state were at comfortable zone and thus it did not delay the arrival of monsoon.

“The temperature this year has been normal this summer. Only two west Orissa towns recorded temperatures above 45 degree celsius, otherwise temperatures in coastal Orissa was around 36 to 37 degree,” said Sarat Sahu, director with Bhubaneswar weather office.

About 73 per cent of the 5 lakh hectare farm land in the state is rain fed. More than half of the farmland is used to produce paddy.