The Hindu Business Line : Rainfall deficit down to 7 pc

The week ended on Wednesday (August 2) saw the country receiving 26 per cent above normal rainfall, which has helped to bring down the overall area-weighted rainfall deficit till date to seven per cent.

This is an improvement on the nine per cent overall deficit recorded as on July 31. Incidentally, the week under reference also saw 22 met sub-divisions record excess/normal rainfall while 13 ended up in the deficient/scanty category. The Lakshadweep sub-division did not get any rain at all.

The actual rainfall for the week was 84.2 mm against the normal of 66.7 mm. Actual rainfall for the season for the country as a whole was 441.2 mm, which compared poorly with the normal of 474.8 mm, throwing up a deficit of seven per cent.

Meanwhile, Thursday's deep depression had changed course slightly to being west-moving (west-northwest originally) and this is considered being very favourable to the south peninsular region, which has not had the best of monsoons this time.

Telengana, North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, parts of Rayalaseema, North Interior Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra will be major beneficiaries in this manner, said Dr Akhilesh Gupta of the Department of Science and Technology.

But no such luck for Kerala, North Interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which will be forced to sit out this time too. The westward moving system is seen sparing Gujarat for a change, and targeting regions south of it this time round. Coastal Karnataka, Konkan and Goa are seen benefiting from the proceedings.

There's still moisture available in plenty in the region where the monsoon is active, Dr Gupta said.

The flows are good and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is ideally placed to sustain the regime for another four to five days.

But he assessed that chances of Typhoon Prapiroon, which crossed the Chinese coast and is fast weakening with a slight change in track, sending a pulse into the Bay of Bengal are now remote. Such a migrant system was earlier thought could set up another `low' in the Bay.

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