Conditions unfavourable for monsoon till July 7, says IMD

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28

Prevailing meteorological conditions, large-scale atmospheric features and the forecast wind pattern by dynamical models suggest that no favourable conditions are likely to develop for further advance of southwest monsoon in Delhi, Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab during the next six to seven days, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

The IMD said the northern limit of southwest monsoon (NLM) continued to pass through Rajasthan’s Barmer, Bhilwara and Dholpur, and Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh and Meerut, as well as Haryana’s Ambala and Punjab’s Amritsar.

Rains in northwest Not anytime soon

• The northern limit of southwest monsoon continues to pass through Barmer, Bhilwara, Dholpur, Aligarh, Meerut, Ambala and Amritsar
• India receives about 70% of its annual rain during the four-month season
• Seasonal rains are crucial for crops like rice, cotton and soybean
• Around two-thirds of India’s agricultural tracts depend on monsoon precipitation

Some independent forecasters believe the monsoon may continue to give the hitherto uncovered parts of the Northwest a miss till around July 10.

According to Mahesh Palawat of Skymet, from Monday/Tuesday, the monsoon axis is also shifting towards foothills, further leading the seasonal rains into perhaps the “longest break spell” at this time of the year.

116 cm of rain is received by India every year
89 cm of it is in the southwest monsoon season
26 degrees north is the latitude through which northern limit of monsoon is passing