The Hindu Business Line : Mid-Sept surge helps cut monsoon deficit

THE revival phase during the last two weeks has helped southwest monsoon cover much of the lost ground and bring down the overall deficit to two per cent as on September 21 (from five per cent of previous week).

A weekly update by India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the actual all-India area-weighted rainfall as on date was 835.0 mm against a normal of 848.5 mm.

The number of met sub divisions recording excess and deficient rainfall week-on-week changed for the better by an identical margin of four.

While those recording excess rainfall were nine (an increase of four over that of the previous week), those with rainfall deficits came down to five (a decrease of four). Those recording normal rainfall were unchanged at a total of 22 for the two weeks.

The five met subdivisions with deficit rain (in percentage figures) as on September 21 were West Rajasthan (22); Bihar (21); Jharkhand (33); Assam and Meghalaya (25) and Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura (28).

In its weather update, the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) said that during the last 24 hours, fairly widespread rain with heavy to very heavy rainfall were reported from Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra and the Northeastern States.

Scattered moderate to light rainfall have also occurred over coastal Orissa, larger Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The chief amounts of rainfall (in cms) are: Vyara (Surat) - 22, Sankheda (Baroda) - 21, Goa and Bhavnagar- 12 each, Ahmedabad and Mahabaleshwar- 8 each and Mumbai -9.

Thursday's well-marked low over north Madhya Maharashtra and neighbourhood has weakened into a conventional `low' and lay over southwest Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Gujarat Region. The associated upper air cyclonic circulation extended up to mid-tropospheric levels.

The system is likely to move initially northward and then north-northeastwards. Under its influence, fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls are likely over Konkan, Goa, north Madhya Maharashtra, east Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat during the next two days.

There is a good possibility of interaction of the prevailing `low' with the approaching western disturbance over the next two days leading to fairly widespread rainfall activity with isolated heavy falls over northwest India.

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