New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Thursday that rainfall in the second half of the monsoon season (August-September) is most likely to be ‘above normal’ due to a strong possibility of La Nina conditions forming by the end of this month.
Though August may see a brief break in the monsoon phase towards the middle of the month, it will not impact the overall rainfall during these two crucial months for Kharif sowing and the growth of standing crops.
On the downside, rains triggered by La Nina in September may lead to multiple incidents of urban flooding, floods in low-lying areas, and landslides in hilly regions.
La Nina, a periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, is generally associated with good monsoon rainfall in India. However, some parts of the country may still experience ‘below normal’ rainfall, similar to what eight states faced in July.
Despite an 11% deficit in monsoon rainfall in June, sowing operations continued in many parts of the country with the help of irrigation using groundwater.
July ended with 9% more rainfall than normal, aiding farmers in increasing acreages in rain-fed areas. As of last Friday, the total sown area reached 812 lakh hectares, which is 18 lakh hectares more than the same period last year.
