The south peninsular region — covering Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep — is facing a 17-per cent rainfall deficit at the end of July, with two more months to go.
Half-way into the season, monsoon rainfall has been 2 per cent above normal for the country as a whole, even as the situation remains grim in most of southern India, except Andhra Pradesh, revealed India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.
Out of the 36 sub-divisions in the country, 23 have received normal rainfall, six have received deficient rain, four have received excess rain while three have received large amounts of excess rain. But, at the district level, the rainfall statistics reveal a different picture.
The south peninsular region — covering Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep — is facing a 17-per cent rainfall deficit at the end of July, with two more months to go. The situation is grim in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which are all in the red having recorded deficient rainfall.
Elsewhere, in Maharashtra, too, the district-level data shows the extent of the deficit in Marathwada, which is prone to droughts.
Eight out of 11 districts in the Marathwada region have recorded below-par rainfall even as the region cumulatively has faced normal rainfall. In the northern region, Uttar Pradesh has seen poor rains across western, southwestern and eastern UP, the data showed. Out of 75 districts, 29 have received deficient rainfall while two are facing large deficiency.
IMD scientists said that poor rainfall during July has led to a situation of deficit in Marathwada, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. "During July, there were several low pressure areas that formed over Bay of Bengal. But, almost all of them moved from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh towards Central and Northwest India.
"In July, there were several low pressure areas that formed over the Bay of Bengal. But almost all of these moved from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh towards central and northwest India. These systems triggered the excess rainfall across Rajasthan and Gujarat, too, in combination with Arabian Sea winds," said DS Pai, the director of the IMD's Long-range Weather Forecasting Centre in Pune.
These systems triggered the excess rainfall across Rajasthan and Gujarat too in combination with Arabian Sea winds," said DS Pai, director, long-range weather forecasting centre, Pune, IMD.
The situation is likely to improve for the Southern Peninsular region, IMD officials said. "We are expecting improvement and that is already happening. In interior Karnataka, there would be rainfall. Now, monsoon is going to be more active in the peninsular region compared to North India. Next one week-ten days, peninsular India should see improved rainfall," said KJ Ramesh, director-general, IMD.
During its last fortnightly forecast past week, the IMD said that rainfall is going to increase in Gangetic plains, Western Himalayan region and south Peninsular region.
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