Heavy rain in northwest, northeast India brings overall deficit down to just 3 per cent

New Delhi, July 4

Heavy rain in northwest and northeast India over the past few days has brought down the overall monsoon precipitation deficit in the country from 11 per cent on June 30 to just 3 per cent on Thursday, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The IMD reported that the rain deficit in northwest India has reduced from 33 per cent on June 30 to 14 per cent on Thursday, from 14 per cent to 8 per cent in central India, and from 13 per cent to 2 per cent in east and northeast India. South India has recorded surplus rains (13 per cent) in the monsoon season so far.

The Met office stated that 24 per cent of the sub-divisional area of the country experienced excess to large excess rainfall, 45 per cent received normal rainfall, and 31 per cent experienced deficient rainfall.

The country has gauged 190.6 mm of rainfall against a normal of 196.9 mm since the start of the four-month monsoon season on June 1.

June had ended with a rainfall deficit of 11 per cent, with the country receiving only 147.2 mm of rainfall in the month against a normal of 165.3 mm, the seventh lowest since 2001.

After making an early onset over Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, and progressing normally up to Maharashtra, the monsoon lost momentum, extending the wait for rains in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and worsening the impact of a scorching heat wave in northwest India.

“Monsoonal winds remained stalled from June 10 to June 18 and made slow progress until June 26-27,” IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra had said earlier.