21 pc of country received 'deficient' rainfall

Nearly 21 per cent of the country has received "deficient" rainfall till July 31, the India Meteorological Department on Monday said as it released the forecast for August and September, which are expected to witness "above normal" precipitation.

According to the IMD, deficiency has reached 49 per cent in Saurashtra and Kutch region followed by Gujarat region (39), Himachal Pradesh (27), Assam and Meghalaya (26), Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Kerala (25) and Odisha (20).

Regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada, which faced acute drought crisis due to two consecutive droughts have received normal rainfall so far.

However, the good news is that the next two months could see a good rainfall.

"Rainfall over the country as a whole during second half of southwest monsoon season (August and September) is most likely to be above normal.

"Quantitatively, the rainfall for the country as a whole during second half of the season is likely to be 107 period of Long Period Average. The rainfall during August is likely to be 104 plus/minus 9 per cent of LPA as was forecasted in June," the IMD said.

Which means September is expected to receive excess rainfall.

Anything less than 90 per cent of the LPA is termed as a "deficient" monsoon and 90-96 per cent of the LPA is rated as "below normal". Monsoon is considered "normal" if the period is between 96 and 104 per cent of the LPA.