Almost two months into the monsoon season, there has been a 22 per cent deficiency in the rainfall received in the country. And this has resulted in a drought like situation prevailing at several places.
The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that during the current monsoon season, as much as 52 per cent of the country’s total area received deficient rainfall, 12 per cent got scanty rainfall, 35 per cent received normal rainfall and 1 per cent got excess rainfall.
In South India, Kerala, North Interior (NI) Karnataka and South Interior Karnataka have suffered the brunt. And Tamil Nadu too received less than its normal share of rainfall.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), South Interior (S I) Karnataka had experienced 47 per cent deficient rainfall during the period lasting up to July 23.
The figures for the other areas are North Interior (N I) Karnataka 34 per cent deficient, Coastal Karnataka 21 per cent, Kerala 39 per cent, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry 17 per cent deficient, Coastal Andhra Pradesh nine per cent excess, Telangana four per cent deficient, Rayalaseema four per cent excess and Odisha 16 per cent deficient.
Countrywide, 22 states received deficient rainfall, 10 states got normal rainfall, three got scanty rainfall and one state received excess rainfall.
IMD data showed that Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP) Western UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Jammu and Kashmir (J and K), Eastern Rajasthan, Western Madhya Pradesh (MP), Gujarat, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, North Interior Karnataka, South Interior Karnataka and Kerala received deficient rainfall.
The regions which received scanty rainfall were Haryana, Punjab, Delhi , Western Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch.
The areas which have received normal rainfall included Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Orissa, Eastern Madhya Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, Vidharba, Chattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Coastal Karnataka and Lakshwadweep.
Only two areas in the country, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and the state of Sikkim got excess rainfall.