MC Daily Monsoon Tracker: Nine states witness excess rainfall

Rainfall surplus of over 1 percent continues

Twenty of India’s 36 states and union territories continued to experience normal rainfall as of July 9, as the country received a rainfall surplus of 1.2 percent above normal, according to data released by Indian Meteorological Department.

Seven states face excess rainfall and two-Ladakh and Tamil Nadu-large excess rainfall. Chandigarh is the only region in the country with over 50 percent rainfall deficit.

In monsoon parlance, a normal is calculated using a long-period average of 30 years for a specific region.

Area sown under major crops was 14 percent higher as of July 5 compared with the previous year, as rainfall situation improved across the country.

Data released on July 7, showed that paddy, pulses and oilseeds experienced over 50 percent higher acreage from similar period in the previous year. Area sown under paddy and pulses was 3.68 million hectares, whereas oilseeds covered 8.03 million hectares.

Sowing under coarse cereals was down a third during this period, whereas sugarcane was up 2.5 percent.

The reservoir situation has also improved. Reservoir levels were down 10 percent from normal as of July 4, compared with 16 percent in the previous week.

Andhra Pradesh and Bihar continue to face over 70 percent deficit in capacity.

The government is hoping for a revival of its agricultural sector, which recorded 1.4 percent growth in FY24 compared to 4.7 percent in the previous year, also lower than the 3.7 percent long-term average.