Rains in July above normal by 71 per cent in Himachal, by 59 per cent and 44 per cent in Haryana and Punjab; more expected this week
Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, July 31
Rains over north India in July have been surplus and the monsoon as a whole has also been above normal during the first half of the four-month rainy season that ended on Monday.
The weatherman has also predicted an increase in rainfall activity over northwest India during this week.
Rainfall in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh has been 71 per cent above the long period average for this period, while in the agrarian states of Haryana and Punjab it has been excess by 59 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively.
From July 1 till the morning of July 31, Himachal Pradesh received 437.50 mm rain as compared to the normal of 255.90 per cent for this period, according to data compiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Haryana received 237.10 mm rain against the normal of 149.10 mm, while Punjab received 231.70 mm against the normal of 161.40 mm for the aforementioned period, IMD data shows.
As far as the entire monsoon season so far is concerned, rain from June 1 till July 31 has been above normal by 57 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 56 per cent in Haryana and 38 per cent in Punjab.
Three districts in Haryana – Fatehbad, Hisar and Jind, and seven districts in Punjab – Barnala, Bathinda, Fazilka, Sangrur, Mansa, Moga and Muktsar, have received rainfall below the long period average during the monsoon period. Over the past 24 hours, light to moderate rain was experienced in some parts of Punjab as well as Haryana.
A bulletin issued by the IMD on July 31 has forecast light to moderate scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall over parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, among other places in the next few days.
During August-September, the second half of the southwest monsoon season, IMD has predicted that normal to above normal rainfall is very likely over most parts of subdivisions adjacent to the Himalayas, but below normal rainfall is very likely over the western parts of northwest India.
During the month of August, above normal monthly maximum temperatures are very likely over many areas along the western parts of northwest India, while normal to below normal maximum temperatures are most likely over some areas along the plains of Himalayas,
During August, above normal minimum temperatures are also likely over some parts of northwest India. Currently, weak El Niño conditions, which impact climate over many parts of the world, are prevailing over the equatorial Pacific region and the latest forecast models indicate that the El Niño conditions are likely to intensity further and continue up to early next year.
