Wet July: Heavy rain to lash east, central India

A dry June that ended with 33% deficiency is all set to be followed by a wet July as an intense spell of monsoon rainfall will lash the east and central India, the weathermen said on Sunday.

Due to a low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and parts of Maharashtra are expected to receive heavy rainfall in the next five days.

The spell of heavy rainfall has begun with Odisha on Sunday evening and will subsequently cover Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, east Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Other parts of Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada too would receive intense rainfall.

The depression on the Bay of Bengal will further push the southwest monsoon to reach east Rajasthan in the next three days.

“Conditions are also very likely to become favourable for the advance of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of East Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, many parts of West Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Himachal Pradesh between July 2-4,” India Meteorological Department said in a statement on Sunday.

The southwest monsoon reached the Kerala coast, a week after its normal date, thanks to a weak El Niño – unusual warming of some parts of the Pacific Ocean – and was soon stalled in its tracks by the cyclone Vayu, which took away the rain-bearing clouds.

As a result, June ended with 33% deficient monsoon rainfall for the country as a whole and the shortfall for each of the four regions – north, east, central and southern India – is above 30%, impacting the sowing of summer crops like paddy, oilseed and pulses.

The IMD, however, hopes that the heavy rain for the next five days and continuation of the monsoon in the subsequent week can make up for the loss. “The loss in sowing could be of 7-8 days at the maximum,” K J Ramesh, IMD director general told DH.

“A Monsoon surge is expected from June 30 to July 15 with a short break in between. The commercial capital Mumbai is at serious risk of flooding between July 3 and July 5. Close to 200 mm or more rain per day is going to batter the city during this period, which could hamper normal life in the city,” private forecaster Skymet says in a statement.