By Rajendra Jadhav and Mayank Bhardwaj
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India is likely to receive an average amount of rain in July despite the likely emergence of the El Nino weather pattern, a senior weather department official said, encouraging farmers to accelerate crop planting which has progressed slowly due to patchy rains in June.
The monsoon, vital for India’s $3 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain needed to water its farms and refill reservoirs and aquifers. It also brings relief from the worst of searing summer heatwaves.
Most parts of the country would receive good rainfall in July, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters.
“Rainfall in July could be 100 to 106% of the long period average,” he said.
July rainfall is crucial as it accounts for most of the precipitation for the four months’ long monsoon season.
This year, the country badly needs good rainfall in July as many pockets received below normal rainfall in June due to a delay in the onset of monsoon and its slow progress until the third week of June because of the formation of severe cyclone Biparjoy.
Monsoon progressed quickly this week, Mohapatra said.
In a typical year, rains usually lash Kerala state, on India’s southwest coast, from around June 1 and move northwards to cover the entire country by July 8.
India received 10% below normal rainfall in June, but some states received as much as 60% lower rainfall than the normal.
The IMD has forecast an average amount of rainfall for the entire four-month season despite the formation of an El Nino weather pattern.
A strong El Nino, marked by a warming of the surface of the sea in the Pacific Ocean, can cause severe drought in Southeast Asia, India and Australia.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Susan Fenton and Jane Merriman)
