NEW DELHI,
THE bountiful rains in many parts of India in the first eight days of July have bridged the rainfall deficit for the entire country, according to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) data. The cumulative rainfall in the monsoon season has reached 243.2 mm, which is 2 per cent above the normal of 239.1 mm. However, there are large-scale regional variations in rainfall. While the eastern and northeastern region has recorded a deficiency of 17 per cent (375.3 mm against a normal of 454 mm), north India has witnessed 59 per cent excess rainfall (199.7 mm against a normal of 125.5 per cent), the latest IMD data showed.
Central India, where a large number of farmers rely on monsoonal rains, has recorded 264.9 mm rainfall against a normal of 255.1 mm, an excess of 4 per cent. The rainfall deficiency in south India has reduced from 45 per cent to 23 per cent.