11 of 36 subdivisions of IMD record deficient rainfall

Eleven of the 36 meteorological subdivisions in the country have recorded deficient rainfall until now, with many of them falling in the east and northeast India, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Twenty-three meteorological subdivisions of the country have recorded normal rainfall, while two subdivisions--Kerala and coastal Andhra Pradesh-- saw excess rainfall, the IMD data said.

Of the seven meteorological subdivisions---Arunachal Pradesh; Assam and Meghalaya; the subdivision comprising Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura; sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim; Gangetic West Bengal; Jharkhand and Bihar---falling in east and northeast, six have received deficient rainfall, it said.

In northwest India, the Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh subdivision, Saurashtra and Kutch subdivision of Central India, Rayalseema, North Interior Karnataka and Telangana subdivisions of South Peninsula have recorded deficient rainfall, it said.

While Kerala has seen excessive rainfall, the deficiency is as high as minus 41 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively in Telangana and Lakshadweep, the weather body said.

The IMD has 36 subdivisions divided under four divisions---the East and the Northeast, Northwest, Central India and South Peninsula.

With devastating rain in Kerala last week and a low pressure area over Central India, the monsoon deficiency has dipped to minus 7 per cent, it said.

From June 1 until today, Kerala has received 41 per cent more rainfall than the normal.

The Southwest monsoon period in the country is from June 1 to September 30. From September 15, the monsoon starts withdrawing from west Rajasthan, where it reaches last.

June and July have recorded 5 per cent and 6 per cent less rainfall, respectively, the IMD said.

The IMD in its forecast for the second half of the Southwest monsoon rainfall said the months of August and September would receive normal rainfall.