India is likely to see average rainfall in July despite the likely occurrence of El Nino weather, a senior meteorological department official said, encouraging farmers to speed up crop planting, which is progressing slowly due to erratic rains in June.
Vital to India’s $3 trillion economy, the monsoon delivers nearly 70% of the rain needed to water its farms and replenish its reservoirs and aquifers. It also brings relief from the worst scorching summer heat.
Most parts of the country would see heavy rainfall in July, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters.
“Rainfall in July could be 100 to 106% of the long-term average,” he said.
The July rainfall is crucial as it represents most of the rainfall in the four-month long monsoon season.
This year, the country badly needs good rainfall in July as many pockets fell below normal rainfall in June due to delay in onset of monsoon and its slow progress till the third week of June due to the formation of severe cyclone Biparjoy.
The monsoon has advanced rapidly this week, Mohapatra said. In a typical year, the rains usually lash the state of Kerala on India’s southwest coast from about June 1 and move north to cover the entire country by July 8.
India saw 10% less rainfall than normal in June, but some states saw up to 60% below normal. The IMD has predicted average rainfall for the entire four-month period despite the formation of El Nino weather. A strong El Nino, marked by warming sea levels in the Pacific Ocean, can cause severe drought in Southeast Asia, India and Australia.
