70.9 mm precipitation against the normal of 114.2 mm till June 23
The progress of monsoon remains highly sluggish despite rainfall in Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar during the last week.
As many as 84 per cent of the meteorological subdivisions have recorded deficient rainfall. Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions, 25 per cent have recorded “deficient” rainfall, while six subdivisions recorded precipitation classified under the “large deficient” category. The overall monsoon deficiency is recorded 38 per cent till June 23.
The country has received 70.9 mm rainfall against the normal of 114.2 mm till date.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC) data, of the 91 major reservoirs in the country, 80 per cent have storage below normal. Of these, 11 have zero per cent storage, making the water crisis acute. The Ministry of Agriculture’s data shows that sluggish monsoon has impacted the kharif sowing in many parts leading to 30 to 40 per cent drop in sowing of major kharif crops, including rice.
The MeT department data shows Odisha and Lakshadweep subdivisions have recorded “normal” rainfall. While Jammu & Kashmir and east Rajasthan recorded “excess” rainfall, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands registered rainfall under the “large excess” category. The MeT department has four divisions - east and the north east, south peninsula, Central India and northwest India.
The east and Northeast India division comprise Northeastern States and eastern States of Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal and all have registered deficient rainfall. Of the 10 subdivisions of Central India, Odisha is the only one to receive normal rainfall.
Four subdivisions, including three from the Maharashtra - Vidarbha, Marathwada and central Maharashtra - have recorded rainfall in the category of “large deficient”. The east Madhya Pradesh subdivision has also recorded rainfall in the same category.
Vidarbha, Marathwada and central Maharashtra subdivisions have been facing a drought-like situation, with water levels in reservoirs reaching extremely low levels.
Although Gujarat and Saurashtra and Kutch subdivisions under Central India have recorded “deficient” rainfall, Cyclone Vayu helped bring down some of the shortfall. The deficiency in these two subdivisions was 100 per cent until June 9, but it went down to 50 and 26 per cent respectively. Of 10 divisions in the south peninsula division, eight are deficient. The Andaman and Nicobar Island subdivision recorded “large excess” rainfall, the only one under this category in the country, while Lakshadweep recorded “normal” rainfall. With Chennai reeling under a severe water crisis, the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal subdivision has a deficiency of nearly 38 per cent.
As per latest data of the Agriculture Ministry, kharif planting shortfall is a little more than 12 per cent. The total area covered till the end of the current week was around 91 lakh hectares (lh) against 104 lh in the corresponding week of the previous kharif season. Due to delayed monsoon, several State Governments have advised the farmers not to rush to sowing and wait for the monsoon. At 6.3 lh, the area under rice was 32 per cent lower than at the same time last year. Coarse cereals planting too fell short by almost a similar quantum compared to last year. Against 9.58 lh planted in the same period last year, only 7.4 lh has been covered so far.