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    Monsoon advances to Gujarat; shortfall in rains continue

    Synopsis

    Monsoon reached Kerala on May 29, three days before the usual date of June 1. However, both the national weather forecaster and private players have said most areas are seeing little rains.

    Monsoon arrives in Andhra Pradesh after over one-week delay
    The weather department also said total monsoon rainfall is 42% below the long-period average (LPA) in the June 1-8 period and 94% down for northwest India.
    About a fortnight after onset, the southwest monsoon has advanced to some parts of Gujarat and central Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidharba, Telangana and Karnataka, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    Conditions are favourable for further advance of the monsoon into some more parts of north Arabian sea, some more parts of Gujarat state, some parts of south Madhya Pradesh, entire Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, some parts Vidarbha and Telangana, some more parts of Andhra Pradesh, west central and northwest Bay of Bengal, some parts of Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, entire sub-Himalayan West Bengal and some more parts of Bihar in the next 2-3 days.

    “The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) continues to pass through Lat. 21°N/ Long. 60°E, Lat. 21°N/ Long. 70°E, Diu, Nandurbar, Jalgano, Parbhani, Bidar, Tirupati, Puducherry, Lat. 14°N/ Long. 84°E, Lat. 17.0°N/ Long. 87°E, Lat.20.0°N/89.5°E, Lat.22.0°N/90°E, Lat.25.0°N/89°E, Balurghat and Supaul, 26.50°N/86°E,” said the weather office.

    Monsoon reached Kerala on May 29, three days before the usual date of June 1. However, both the national weather forecaster and private players have said most areas are seeing little rains.

    “This year’s monsoon is disappointing for most parts of the country barring the north eastern states. It is slow, sluggish, and rainfall has been deficient over most of the country, especially the southern peninsula,” said GP Sharma, president, Skymet.

    Kerala, the entry gate to the mainland, has had deficit rain of 57% between June 1-13. Also, there is a pan-India shortfall of 37% in the same period, with a large deficiency over the central parts, Sharma added.

    The weather department also said total monsoon rainfall is 42% below the long-period average (LPA) in the June 1-8 period and 94% down for northwest India.

    Progress of Monsoon
    Progress of the monsoon generally takes place in three phases. The first phase lasts between 1-15 June and drags the monsoon current from south to north up the Western Ghats along with interior sub-divisions of the Southern Peninsula. Simultaneously, the Bay of Bengal branch covers the entire stretch of Northeast India and travels up to halfway through the state of Bihar and Jharkhand, sweeping into West Bengal and Odisha en route, Sharma said.

    The second phase of progress is more east to west during 15-25 June. During this period, the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon advances a little from South Gujarat to North Gujarat, touching Rajasthan but not Kutch. The Bay of Bengal branch makes a big leap to cover Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and most of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh. It stops just on the outskirts of the national capital Delhi.

    The third and the final phase between June 26 to July 8 the two streams of monsoon work together and parallely to cover the entire country. Many times, it staggers short of entering the last post of West Rajasthan. Monsoon steam is the least in the final leg and invariably needs a push by western disturbance to peep deep into border areas of Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, North and West Rajasthan, Sharma added.

    The IMD has predicted a normal monsoon this year with rainfall at 103% of the long-period average. The monsoon is the biggest source of irrigation for the country’s crops and is key to the country’s economic revival amid surging inflation fuelled by food prices. Adequate rains will boost crop output and dampen food inflation.


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