MC Daily Monsoon Tracker: Rainfall surplus increases for fourth straight day

Rainfall surplus for fourth straight day

The country faced a rainfall surplus for fourth straight day, as it registered 2.56 percent higher than normal rainfall, according to data released by the Indian Meteorological Department.

Twenty-six states face normal or above normal rainfall in the country, with 15 facing normal rainfall conditions and 11 experiencing excess or large excess rainfall.

On the other hand, 10 states mostly in the Northwest and east India are still rainfall deficient.

Northwest and east India continues to face worse weather conditions than the rest of the country. Chandigarh experienced over 50 percent deficit, with Jharkhand, Punjab, and Manipur experiencing over 40 percent deficit.

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

Despite reservoir levels declining, Punjab, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh continue to face over 50 percent deficit in capacity.

Data released by ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare showed that paddy, pulses and oilseeds experienced higher acreage as of July 19 from similar period in the previous year. While sowing under coarse cereals was down during this period. Overall sowing was 3.5 percent higher under Kharif crops.

The finance minister in her Budget speech expanded the mission on pulses and oilseeds to make India self-sufficient.

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.