Mumbai: This year, the monsoon is expected to reach the Andaman and Nicobar Islands either this weekend or in the middle of the following week, said Skymet Weather, India’s leading weather forecasting and agri-risk monitoring company. PV Joseph, monsoon researcher and a former director Indian Meteorological Department said, it is represented by a band of clouds extending from Kerala eastwards into the bay, which starts forming from April 21 for the onset of a normal monsoon.
However, this year it has been delayed by 10 days. All the four regions are going to witness lesser than normal rainfall this season. It seems that the initial advancement of monsoon over Peninsular India is going to be slow,” said Jatin Singh, Managing Director, Skymet Weather.
A delayed monsoon could impact the Kharif crop, which is bad news when the country is already facing agricultural distress. This is especially bad for farmers in Maharashtra, a state which has registered highest number of farmers’ suicides.
Last year, the IMD had predicted a rainfall of 97 per cent of the LPA, but by the end of the season, the country had received only 91 per cent rainfall.
In the bargain, as per a statement by the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, last June, the total sowing area of Kharif crops had declined by over 20 per cent. The monsoon delivers nearly 70 per cent of the rain that India needs to water the farms and recharge the reservoirs. Timely rainfall means a good season for the planting of crops such as rice, soybean and cotton.
