Monsoon covers India a day late; July rains revive kharif sowing hopes
NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon has finally swept across the entire country, reaching full coverage on Wednesday—one day later than its normal completion date—after a
NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon has finally swept across the entire country, reaching full coverage on Wednesday—one day later than its normal completion date—after a season marked by a delayed onset and uneven rainfall that has slowed kharif sowing. The monsoon covered the entire country on 9 July, a day later than the normal date of 8 July, after making landfall over the Kerala coast on 4 June, three days behind schedule. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon completed its nationwide advance on 9 July, compared with 27 June last year.
The last time the monsoon took longer to cover the country after its onset over Kerala was in 2021, when it reached the Kerala coast on 3 June and covered the entire country on 13 July. The delayed advance comes in a year when the IMD has forecast below-normal rainfall, with the southwest monsoon expected to be 90% of the long-period average (LPA) during the June-September season. The southwest monsoon is critical to India's economy and agriculture, contributing roughly 70% of the country's annual rainfall. A weak June has already weighed on the kharif season.
Crops have been sown over 35.08 million hectares as of 3 July, about 9.2 million hectares less than during the corresponding period last year, after deficient rainfall through much of June. Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday expressed confidence that kharif sowing will gather pace as the monsoon has strengthened in July. He said that after recording a 33% rainfall deficit in June, the overall shortfall has narrowed to 24% following recent widespread showers. The improved rainfall has also reduced the number of rainfall-deficient districts from 262 to 178, raising hopes of a faster pace of sowing in the coming weeks.
Even as rainfall has picked up in some regions, the IMD warned of isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Uttarakhand on 10 July under the influence of a well-marked low-pressure area over southwest Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions. At the same time, rainfall activity is expected to decline across central India, including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, from 9 July, and over south peninsular India from 10 July.
The BriefWire