As the southwest monsoon continues to narrow its overall deficit, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday exuded confidence that the dreaded El Nino weather pattern was unlikely to affect monsoon rains this year.
The IMD came out with a dismaying prediction.
The rains in August have also led to speculation that if the trend continues, rains in September, the terminal month of the four-month monsoon season, could be better, thus aiding production of paddy and other kharif crops.
Good monsoon is likely to create more jobs in the agriculture sector, which in turn could save the exchequer around Rs 10,000 crore
Consumer goods firms and auto companies are witnessing an upturn in rural demand, which had been lagging for most of FY24. Expectations of a bumper rabi crop harvest have helped turn the tide. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged last week, noting that as rural demand catches up, consumption is expected to support economic growth in 2024-25.
The markets had touched their highest levels in a month.
The aim of the programme is to increase the water table in the stressed areas through dams, ponds, and afforestation. According to a NITI Aayog study, by 2030, the country's water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual 6 per cent loss in the country's GDP.
Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June, while harvesting starts from October. Rice is the main kharif crop, besides bajra, arhar, urad, moong, groundnut and soyabean.
Residents of Phoenix, Arizona scurried for cover on Tuesday night as a massive desert sandstorm roared through their city.
Heavy to very heavy rains are expected in Maharashtra, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh and Goa in the next couple of days, the India Meteorological Department said.
Rediff.com brings you monsoon images from across the country
India will receive normal monsoon this season, country's meteorological department said on Wednesday in its forecast for the Southwest monsoon that covers 75 per cent of the country, and thereby may bring much-needed respite to the economy, which is reeling under the catastrophic effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Till Thursday, the country had received 41 per cent less June rainfall than normal -- the scantiest in a decade and one of the rarest occasions when the shortfall in the month was more than 30 per cent -- private weather forecaster Skymet said in its daily weather forecast on Friday.
As the southwest monsoon moves slowly across the southern peninsula, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest report said the overall rainfall during the second week of the four-month season was almost 50 per cent less than normal.
In Delhi, Safdarjung, the base station for the national capital, recorded 44.2 degrees Celsius, while Mungeshpur observatory in northwest Delhi, reported 47.3 degrees Celsius.
Relief work gained momentum on Saturday as rainfall came to a halt in many parts of the state. When contacted, a senior official told PTI that 16 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents as per the reports received till Saturday afternoon.
The India Meteorological Department in its first forecast for 2014 had said southwest monsoon will be below normal at 95 per cent of the long-period average.
The forecast for better rains this seasons comes after India witnessed one of the worst droughts in recent times when the monsoon had failed last year.
This piece of forecast from the India Meteorological Department and the European Centre for Medium-Range weather Forecasts may bring cheer to Indian farmers
Waterlogging has been reported in several parts of city.
Temperatures remained above 45 degrees Celsius in large parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh, affecting daily life as many chose to remain indoors in the afternoon.
Met department assures rains are likely to revive from next week
Streets in localities like Hindmata, Dadar, Sion, King's Circle and Wadala are waterlogged. Suburban trains were running slow when reports last came in.
Monsoon is likely to reach Maharashtra and Goa in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday, with a private weather forecasting agency predicting sustained heavy rains later this week.
After a significant decline in business in the quarter ended June, leading gold loan companies are set to see a reversal of fortunes. In fact, the recovery already started in August, with a revival in the southwest monsoon.
Rainfall in the week ended August 29 was about six per cent more than normal and the best weekly rains in the southwest monsoon season this year. This helped ease concern on drought across several parts of the country.
As the kharif season is setting in, India is scrambling to source fertilisers from the international market. It is set to sign long-term contracts - especially with Morocco and Latin American countries - to ensure steady flow of supplies. "We have to source fertilisers wherever it is available because crops have to be secured.
However, the estimates could change in the coming months, as full impact of excess rainfall and floods on the standing soybean and urad crops in central and western India in late August and September has not yet been fully taken into account.
Kerala has reported the season's first death due to H1N1 virus ahead of the onset of southwest monsoon as various types of viral fever spread in the state, including a large number of dengue cases.
In Central India, the standing soybean and pulses crops have also been hit but the loss isn't massive as the showers were followed by relatively bright sunshine that helped absorb soil moisture
The met department said that rainfall in August is projected to be within the normal range at 97% of LPA. In August and September, India receives around 43 mm of rainfall.
According to the meteorological analysis of the southwest monsoon between June one and August 24, the country, on the whole, had received one per cent less rainfall than the long period average. Of the 36 meteorological sub-divisions five, including Marathwada, continue to receive deficit monsoon rains.
The government on Thursday imposed a 20 per cent export duty on non-Basmati rice except for parboiled rice to boost domestic supplies amid a fall in area under the paddy crop in the current Kharif season. According to a notification by the revenue department, an export duty of 20 per cent has been imposed on 'rice in husk (paddy or rough)' and 'husked (brown) rice'. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs further said the export of 'semi-milled or wholly-milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed(other than Parboiled rice and Basmati rice)' will also attract a customs duty of 20 per cent.
'It is the most prone month for the development of cyclones in the pre-monsoon period.'
Heavy rains in Mumbai caused major water logging in areas like Lower Parel on Saturday, leaving residents and commuters stranded, and causing a huge traffic gridlock.
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