Monsoon to pick up pace starting July 22: Skymet

Heavy rains will occur all over the country starting July 22 and will continue till the first week of August, making up for the overall rain deficit, private weather forecaster Skymet said on Monday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the all India rain deficit between June 1 and July 20 stands at 7 percent below average and apart from northwest India, every other region in the country has witnessed deficient showers.

"The all India rainfall has been 322.6 mm against the average rainfall of 348 mm which is seven percent below the long period average (LPA). Similarly, east and northeast India received 605.1 mm of rain as against 640.6 mm, a deficit of 6 percent, central India got 315.6 mm of rain against 370.9 mm which is 15 percent below average and the south peninsula too recorded 12 percent below average rainfall," the IMD said.

However, Skymet has said that staring July 22, monsoon showers will pick up pace rapidly and will continue till the first week of August.

"Every part of the country will get heavy rains between July 22 and the first week of August and it will be cause by a phenomenon called maiden julian oscillation (MJO) which is at present over the Indian Ocean and will cover the entire country soon," Skymet official Mahesh Palawat told IANS.

MJO is an eastward moving disturbance of clouds, rainfall, and winds that has a three to seven days cycle, on average, he said.

"The MJO will also weaken the El Nino effect. Overall, the deficiency in rainfall will be compensated by the first week of August," he said.

The IMD too in its forecast said heavy showers will occur all over the country till July 24.

"Starting July 21 and up till July 24, heavy rainfall will lash all parts of the country including coastal Karnataka, west Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, south interior Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, east Rajasthan, Gangetic West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Assam and Meghalaya, and Kerala," the IMD said.