The Hindu Business Line : Monsoon weakens — <I>Dry phase likely to continue for 8-10 days </I>

After a spectacular early entry, the south-west monsoon has entered a weak phase and "is not likely to get revived during the next eight to 10 days", the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned.

The subdued rainfall activity, an IMD release said here on Friday,would lead to a rise in maximum temperatures beyond 40 degrees Celsius in North-West and Central India, accompanied by hot and dust-raising winds.

Only the North-East is expected to experience widespread rains with isolated heavy falls.

The monsoon this year set in over Kerala on May 26, against its normal date of June 1. It advanced rapidly along the west coast and reached Mumbai on May 31 (10 days early) and further up to south Gujarat on June 2.

It also covered the North-Eastern region on May 27-28.

This was followed by a one-week hiatus, after which the formation of a low-pressure area over north Bay of Bengal pushed the monsoon further into eastern India covering West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand of June 6.

Rainfall received

During the first week of the monsoon season (June-September) ended June 7, the country as a whole received an average area-weighted rainfall of 40.2 millimetres (mm), which was 68 per cent more than the corresponding long period average (LPA) of 23.9 mm. As many as 19 out of the country's 36 meteorological sub-divisions recorded `excess' precipitation (i.e 20 per cent or more over LPA) and seven experiencing `normal' (deviation within plus or minus 19 per cent).

There were 10 `deficient' sub-divisions (20 per cent or more below LPA), including Marathwada, Vidarbha, Telangana, coastal Andhra, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Assam.

With the monsoon not reviving in the next 10 days, this is likely to delay sowing of crops such as cotton.

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