People wade through knee-deep water on a road amid rain, at Nalasopara in Palghar, Maharashtra, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The hot winds sweeping across the ancient Kallanai, which should be brimming with water by now, are raising temperatures across the Cauvery delta this year. A weak southwest monsoon and the vexed inter-State river water sharing dispute with Karnataka have left farmers in the region in distress yet again.

As the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur could not be opened on the customary date of June 12 owing to insufficient storage, a majority of farmers in the delta, for whom the Cauvery is the lifeline, have not been able to cultivate paddy this kuruvai (kharif) season. With the Super El Nino effect looming large, farmers are worried about the prospects of the forthcoming samba crop too.

Over the past few months, the flow into the Mettur dam from Karnataka has been meagre. Tamil Nadu realised just 2.915 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) in the Cauvery from Karnataka in June, against the 9.19 tmc ft stipulated for the month by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court.

Consequently, after a record coverage in 2025, when kuruvai paddy was raised on over six lakh acres against the normal area of about 4.4 lakh acres, agricultural fields across the delta, irrigated by a network of rivers and canals, are lying fallow. Announcing the kuruvai special package, the State government said the crop could be raised on about 3.55 lakh acres with groundwater. But farmers claim that only 1.5 lakh acres would be covered in the filter point areas in the core delta districts, largely in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur.

The kuruvai cultivation area in Thanjavur has come down to around 89,000 acres this season from around 1,94,000 acres in the previous cultivation year. In Tiruvarur, the coverage area has dwindled to around 64,000 acres from around 1,91,000 acres in 2025-26, say district officials.

A section of farmers who had raised the crop using groundwater is complaining about erratic three-phase power supply. Complaints of withering crops have been reported in a few places in the delta.

Cultivation with groundwater

R. Arivazhagan, a farmer of Olaidevarayanpettai in Thanjavur district, has raised kuruvai paddy on six acres with groundwater. He explains the issues in cultivation with groundwater. Though he has raised the crop, many of his fellow villagers are not able to do so owing to the depletion in the groundwater table as the rivers are dry. “My neighbour is drilling a fresh borewell and the yield from my borewell is going down too. There are disruptions in three-phase power supply owing to voltage drops and other issues. I am not sure whether I will be able to see through my 25-day-old crop over the next three months,” he says.

Several farmers who had taken up summer ploughing in anticipation of water release from the Mettur dam have burnt their fingers. “Many of us had taken up summer ploughing twice by spending at least ₹1,500 an acre each time, expecting water discharge by mid-June. But we could not go in for the kuruvai crop and our lands are lying fallow. Farm labourers have been rendered jobless. The entire rural economy has been badly affected,” says R. Pandidurai, a farmer of Seelathanallur in Tiruvarur.

Farmers demand that the entire State, especially the delta districts, be declared drought-hit so that they can avail themselves of relief, including compensation under the ‘prevented sowing/planting risk’ (due to adverse weather) clause of the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme. “We had kept the fields ready after ploughing, but there was no flow in the Cauvery. Farmers in Nagapattinam district have been hit as we don’t have too many borewells, except in the Thirumarugal area. We hope we will get some compensation under the crop insurance scheme,” says Karunainathan of Vedaranyam.

Mahadhanapuram Rajaram, a veteran farmers’ leader and president of the Cauvery Irrigation Farmers Welfare Association, says, “We estimate that the delta farmers stand to lose about ₹1,125 crore as they have not been able to raise kuruvai crop. It would also trigger fodder shortage in the coming months. If the samba or thaladi crops too were affected by drought or rain at harvest stages, the financial burden on the State would be heavier.”

“We could face a production loss of up to 15 lakh tonnes of paddy this season. More importantly, the loss of the crop could lead to migration of farm labourers as they look for other sources of income,” says Cauvery Dhanapalan, president, Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Sangankalin Kootuiyakkam.

“The inflow and the storage at Mettur are still not encouraging. We doubt whether the government will manage to get water from Karnataka. The prediction of a weak monsoon due to the El Nino effect has cast a shadow over the samba crop too,” Mr. Pandidurai says. The dam had just 38 tmc ft of water against its capacity of 93.47 tmc ft, and the inflow was hovering at 125 cusecs last week. The dam, which was at its full capacity during the same time last year, needs substantial inflows in the coming weeks for the government to decide on water discharge for the samba season.

P.R. Pandian of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu says the lack of Cauvery water has endangered the livelihood of farmers in the delta this year. “The southwest monsoon has been scanty, and is going to end soon. It has been predicted that the State may get less than normal rainfall during the northeast monsoon too. We may go in for the samba crop with direct sowing, pinning our hopes on the monsoon. But the question is whether we will be able to protect the crop through the season. Unless the monsoon comes to our aid, we have a very precarious situation,” he says. “Only if water is released from the Mettur dam by August can farmers safely raise long-duration varieties during the samba season. If the water release is delayed further, they can only go in for medium or short-term varieties,” says Mr. Dhanapalan.

‘Declare delta as drought-hit’

Mr. Pandian says it is time the government declared the delta ‘drought-hit’ and started rolling out relief measures. “It should provide drought relief as was done by the Jayalalithaa government some years ago. The government should provide ₹15,000 an acre as relief for the kuruvai loss,” he says, adding that the government should also support farmers raising the samba crop using groundwater by providing seeds and diesel at subsidised rates.

Farmers organisations say the kuruvai special package, announced by the government, has not been of much help. “Though the government had said farmers would be given the support for two acres, officials here say we will get it only for one acre each as there have been a number of applications. The application process is cumbersome, and we are required to submit several documents such as bills for machine planting, photos of farmers in the field, besides the land records. We have to spend considerable time and effort in submitting these papers for a meagre financial support,” Mr. Arivazhagan says, calling for simplifying the application process.

“The special package is inadequate to meet the requirements of farmers. Since there has been a large number of applications, the allocation should be increased,” says Swamimalai Vimalnathan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

He wants the government to come up with a special samba package too as farmers who were not able to raise the kuruvai crop will plant samba, pinning their hopes on a good monsoon. He suggests that as a special case, the government provide free farm connections to those who have been waiting for long so that more farmers can take up cultivation using groundwater.

Delta farmers also take a critical view of Food Minister P. Venkataramanan’s reported suggestion that farmers go in for alternative crops in view of the water shortage. “Before making such suggestions, the government should carry out a proper study and identify crops which are suitable for the different soil conditions in the delta region. Such crops should also be able to withstand the monsoon. But there seems to be no plan or effort in this direction,” says Mr. Vimalnathan.

“Karnataka has been releasing only the surplus water and does not agree to the distress-sharing formula. We have not even got half of June’s quota of water and there is no guarantee that Karnataka will release our share in July or August. Tamil Nadu should sanction relief to the farmers and can mobilise funds by claiming compensation from Karnataka for the crop losses,” says V. Jeevakumar, a farmers leader of Budalur.

Running from pillar to post

D. Abraham of Kanarpatti in Tirunelveli district had sold over 7.50 tonnes of paddy to the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India nine months ago. But he is still running from pillar to post to get his payment of ₹1.86 lakh. His family expenses forced him to not only pledge his jewels but also to pay interest for them till date.

The plight of Mr. Abraham, who is the district secretary of the Coordination Committee of Tamil Nadu All Farmers’ Associations, is not unique. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam  government’s announcement on waiver of cooperative crop loans came as a jolt to the farmers who pointed to the gap between what the TVK had promised before the election and what it announced after coming to power.

The TVK manifesto had promised a complete loan waiver for small and marginal farmers who own up to 5 acres of land and a 50% waiver for the others. On May 25 this year, the government announced that only loans of up to ₹50,000 would be waived fully for marginal farmers. For loans exceeding ₹50,000, the waiver ranged between ₹5,000 and ₹40,000.

Effectively, a marginal farmer with a loan of over ₹1 lakh would get only ₹5,000 as relief. It was worse for small farmers as only 50% of loans up to ₹50,000 were waived. For the rest, the waiver ranged from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000. This triggered massive protests by farmers across the State.

‘Let down by the TVK government’

“While the poll promise of the TVK spoke only about total loan waiver for all farmers based on their land holdings, the government introduced ceilings. Farmers had voted for the TVK based on its promises, but we feel let down,” says R. Rampandian, of Aruppukottai, a functionary of Southern District Farmers’ Association.

The government blamed the Reserve Bank of India’s Model Operating Procedure, which mandates that States implementing loan waivers must settle the entire amount to co-operative banks within 45 to 60 days. It also blamed the State’s finances.

With all major political parties, including the DMK, the AIADMK, and the BJP, backing the farmers, they vowed to continue their protest till the ruling TVK implemented its poll promise. The government responded by announcing a revised loan waiver scheme on June 16.

It promised total waiver of loans up to ₹75,000 for all farmers irrespective of land holdings. For loans above ₹75,000, the waiver was restricted to ₹35,000 per farmer. But the farmers remain dissatisfied and their protests continue.

Maharashtra model

The Maharashtra government’s announcement that a complete waiver of farm loans up to ₹2 lakh would be sanctioned has further fuelled anger among farmers. “Won’t the RBI norms apply to Maharashtra? Why cannot Tamil Nadu follow suit,” asked  N.A. Ramachandra Raja of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam. Of the 600 farmers who had borrowed from the Singarajakottai Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society in Rajapalayam, only 170 will benefit from the waiver, he said.

Why do farmers demand loan waivers? They complain that their occupation has become a gamble amid the adverse impact of climate change. “Each year, several farmers part with their farmland unable to handle the crop loss they face. The government needs to incentivise grain production,” Mr. Ramachandra Raja says.

The farmers point out that farmers in Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are being given ₹6,000 to ₹10,000 as incentive to sustain food production. While a farmer sells one quintal of paddy for ₹2,450, he buys a 50-kg bag of complex fertilizer for ₹2,100, Mr.  Ramachandra Raja points out.

Mr. Abraham adds, “If the farmer wants to increase the yield, he has to apply potash, costing ₹2,400 [50-kg bag]. And the cost of pesticides has also skyrocketed.”

In addition, the farmers face shortage of workers during peak farming season as the workers prefer MGNREGS  work.

“Even after we undergo all these hardships to raise the paddy, the government is in no mood to give us a fair remuneration. In a situation where the farmers cannot fix the price of their produce, we have no other option but to demand crop loan waiver to sustain farming,” he says.

The Swaminathan Committee had recommended that the Minimum Support Price for crops should at least be 50% more than the comprehensive cost of production. “If its recommendation is implemented, we would not need crop loan waiver or fertilizer subsidy. It is now the bounden duty of the government to provide crop loan waiver,” says Mr. Perumbadaiyar of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam in Tirunelveli.

(With inputs from V. Venkatasubramanian in Thanjavur, S. Sundar in Madurai, and P. Sudhakar in Tirunelveli)

A file photo of rains in Belagavi district.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Visitors enjoying showers on Kartavya Path on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

According to lore, the first lines Rabindranath Tagore ever wrote were, “Jol pore, pata nore” – water falls, leaves tremble. It is a simple observation, almost childlike, yet it contains an entire philosophy of rain. Rain is never merely an event of the sky, it is a stirring of the earth, a movement of memory. And nowhere is this truer than in Kolkata. Here, the monsoon first touches the thick dark green pine forests, misty mountains and old hill towns of North Bengal before making its way to Kolkata. It seeps into the city’s cracks and memories, returning through songs half remembered, through windows flung open to the scent of wet earth, through old loves, old streets and old selves who come back for a fleeting visit. The rain falls. The city trembles. 

Santadeep Dey, a journalist with Sportstar magazine, recollects, “I wish I could say the rains smell of home (Barrackpore, Kolkata) . They don’t. At least in Chennai, they don’t. At home, that smell of wet earth and lying under a cool blanket listening to the radio was something else entirely. Now there’s no radio either, and home is very far away. Even now, on rainy days, if I hear the sound of a cooker somewhere, I feel like my mom has called saying she has made khichuri (rice and lentils), come eat,” says Santadeep.

He looks back to his childhood when, “The most fun thing was, in heavy rain, holding kaka’s (uncle’s) hand, with an umbrella over our heads, going out to get aloor chop (potato fritters). We would all sit together and eat them. All of these are just memories now. Kaka is also no more.”

Drifting from the memory of home to songs, Santadeep says, “When Brishti by Firoze Jong released earlier this year, I was enraptured. In parts, haunting, in parts, the lyrics are very relatable. Contemplative. The electric guitar adds to the intensity. And the rain and thunder backing track makes it all the more beautiful.”

Rain also rakes up the memory of a compelling film still, he says, “In Naruto there was one powerful scene where Itachi is seen crying while staring up at the sky. It is raining. It was rumoured that his brother Sasuke had died at that time. He almost manages to hide his tears in the rain, but his partner Kisame understands. Itachi is supposed to be an all-powerful cold character, but his emotions break through his steely features because he was supposedly mourning his loved one then.”

If Santadeep’s rain is filled with nostalgia, for mechanical engineer Riya Roy, it still carries the ache of heartbreak. “I remember I was in my first or second year in college and the boy I was madly in love with had broken up with me because he was moving abroad for work. It was July or August when he left the country, and what I remember most is crying every day on the commute from Gariahat junction to my college in Anandapur. I would look at the rear view mirror in my auto, splattered with rain, hoping he would appear in it,” says Riya. 

“The song I listened to on loop was the OG Bengali song Ekla Ghar by Fossils. The lines that still haunt me years after I have moved on are (lines translated)

“Though change is what is needed,

I walk again along the path to your house.

The rain gives me companionship.

Will you see this through the window glass?

Or will it be blurred by the thick monsoon rain?’”

“The thing with rain is that years pass, new memories are made, pain fades or we learn to live with it, but the rain and its smell remember. Songs remember. That entire Gariahat to Anandapur stretch still brings back those memories,” recollects Riya as she averts her gaze. 

For some, rain lives in songs. For others, it lives inside music itself.

At 78, Praniti Ghosh, a retired school teacher, feels that every Kolkata monsoon afternoon arrives accompanied by ragas and Tagore. “When I was young, my mother would tell me, ‘Megh Malhar raag shunle brishhti baje,’ (Listening to the Megh Malhar raaga is like listening to the rain) like the rain itself dancing in the notes. When Tansen sang Malhar, clouds actually gathered, and rain fell. That’s why now, when I sit alone on a rainy afternoon, I play Pandit Shivkumar Sharma’s Santoor Malhar. The swaras become raindrops on my window,” remembers Praniti with a glint in her eye. 

“And then Tagore’s Aji Jharo Jharo Mukharo Badolodine. When I hear those ragas, I’m listening to the rain’s memory. The rain that came when I was 20, when my husband was alive, when the children were small. Now I’m 78. The rain is still here. The Malhar is still here. Tagore is still here. Only I am getting old. But the music keeps the rain young for me,” reminisces Praniti. 

For Varnika Lall, management trainee, key accounts manager at CavinKare, rain is inseparable from cinema.

“I think my first memory of rain with music goes back to school when that song came out, Barso Re Megha Megha from the film Guru, and I genuinely believed that every time I heard that song, it rained because it happened a couple of times.

She adds, ”One which is really close to my heart is, of course, ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’, that iconic dialogue from the film when Madhavan says in a rain-drenched phone booth while watching Dia Mirza dance in the rain, ‘Main Dilli Bol Raha Hoon Maddy Se.’ I love that bit. Love at first sight is something that was defined by that moment in the rain.”

“There are so many songs that I actually listen to and sort of manifest in the sense that maybe if I hear this song it will rain. And it was never the rain that I loved; it was always the build-up to the rain,” explains Varnika.

“There are songs like O Meri Jaan from Life in a… Metro. Just the way that song feels —it’s like when you know it’s just about to rain, when it’s cloudy, getting dark and windy. Then there’s Udi Udi from Saathiya, and Yeh Barish Hai Boondon Ki from Fanaa, which symbolises passion and rain. When you listen to that song, you can visualise it,” she notes.

“More mainstream Bollywood songs like ‘Chham Chham Chham’ are also memorable. With many things in life that we love, it is mostly about the build-up. I love thunderstorms and songs that mimic the weather. Sometimes when I’m feeling angry or passionate, I like to hear ‘Kurban Hua’ from Kurbaan. That song mimics the thunderstorm in my head,” explains Varnika.

“Another emotion that rain evokes is longing for something that really does not exist. Like listening to Adnan Sami’s Teri Yaad Aati Hai or Goonja Sa Hai Koi Ektara. Even though they are not rain songs, because of the picturisation and everything, they feel very rainy. And if we look at the latest, Baarishein by Anuv Jain was also good,” outlines Varnika.

Pratima Das, a 50 year old homemaker, remembers the year 1994.

“The rains came early that year. It was my wedding day , August 18. Kolkata’ s Paris Hall ebbed with the sound of the shehnai and smelled of marigolds and wet earth, and the sound of ululation rose from everywhere as I entered the hall. I remember my Benarasi sari clinging to everything. I remember the caterer’s cook spilling mishti doi on the table cloth and covering it with flowers, thinking no one saw. I saw, but said nothing. It felt like good luck,” remembers Pratima dreamily.

“Every time I see the rain, I think of the shehnai. After the wedding, when my anxiousness had finally abated and I was able to eat after fasting all day, the song that kept drifting from a nearby radio or perhaps from a shop or a passing car was ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’ from the film Manzil, which was such a hit in those times. In place of Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee, I imagined my husband and myself,” giggles Pratima.

“But when I look back on that day now, I think of another scene. There’s a moment in Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar where Apu stands in a doorway, the rain behind him, everything unspoken between two people who are only just beginning to know one another. I watched it again last winter and had to sit very still for a while afterwards. It was so precisely true to something I had once lived and could no longer touch. That particular quality of a monsoon afternoon when your whole life is still ahead of you and you do not know it yet. My daughter thinks I’m being sentimental when I talk about that day. She’s right. I am. Unapologetically!”, says Pratima emphatically. 

Perhaps that is why those first lines of Tagore endure. More than a century later, in Kolkata, it is not only the leaves. A song resurfaces, a face returns, a vanished hall fills once more with the sound of a shehnai. The rain falls, and memory answers. 

Greater Chennai Corporation is taking proactive measures to prepare for the upcoming monsoon season. In a post on X, the civic body announced that they have purchased 36 boats to ensure readiness in case of heavy rainfall, distributing them across Zone 3, Zone 14, Madhavaram, and Perungudi. This move comes after the Regional Meteorological Centre forecasted normal to slightly above normal rainfall during the northeast monsoon. 

”Dear #Chennaiites, #GCC has purchased 36 boats as a precautionary measure in case of heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. Below are pictures of the boats distributed in Zone 3 &14. One boat to Zone 3 and two boats to Zone 14,” the tweet read, along with a few pictures. 

See the post here:

Dear #Chennaiites,#GCC has purchased 36 boats as a precautionary measure in case of heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. Below are pictures of the boats distributed in Zone 3 &14. One boat to Zone 3 and two boats to Zone 14.#ChennaiCorporation#HereToServe#NalamiguChennaipic.twitter.com/8apDlfk8eG

— Greater Chennai Corporation (@chennaicorp) October 2, 2024

The northeast monsoon is expected to arrive by the third week of October, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), and it’s likely to bring more rainfall than usual. This monsoon season typically runs from October to December, bringing much-needed rain to the southern peninsula.

To oversee monsoon preparedness, the government has also appointed 15 IAS officers, one for each zone. The officers will be in charge of preparedness, planning, relief and mitigation of all the zones in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

The GCC has also identified vulnerable areas, mapping and analysis, preparedness of institutional arrangements and pre-positioning of human resources. Additionally, the corporation is implementing various measures to enhance capacity building, including mitigation strategies, stakeholder sanitization, traffic management plans, communication channels, relief arrangements, and medical preparedness.

These measures follow the devastating Cyclone Michaung in December 2023, which brought 400 mm of rainfall in just two days, resulting in widespread flooding and waterlogging that claimed 17 lives and affected thousands. Several questions were raised on systemic issues and disaster preparedness. Local people had complained that relief operations were poor and there was no forewarning.

New Delhi:

A total of 1,492 people died in India during extreme weather events in the 2024 monsoon season, according to data compiled by the India Meteorological Department.

The data revealed that 895 people lost their lives due to floods and rain-related incidents, while 597 fatalities were caused by thunderstorms and lightning strikes during the monsoon season.

The IMD reported that the country experienced 525 heavy rainfall events (precipitation between 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm) — the highest in the last five years — and 96 extremely heavy rainfall events (above 204.5 mm) during the 2024 monsoon.

According to the data, 17 people died from heatwaves — 13 in Jharkhand and four in Rajasthan — during the early part of the season.

Kerala, which witnessed devastating landslides in the ecologically fragile Wayanad district on July 30, recorded 397 deaths due to floods and heavy rains.

Assam and Madhya Pradesh recorded 102 and 100 deaths, respectively, due to floods and heavy rains.

In the national capital, 13 deaths were reported as a result of floods and heavy rains.

The data also revealed that Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths (189) due to thunderstorms and lightning strikes, followed by Uttar Pradesh (138), Bihar (61), and Jharkhand (53).

The 2024 southwest monsoon season officially ended on Monday, with India recording 934.8 mm of rainfall — 107.6 per cent of the long-period average and the highest since 2020.

Central India received 19 per cent more rainfall than the long-period average for the region, the southern peninsula recorded 14 per cent more than normal, and northwest India saw 7 per cent more than usual.

In contrast, east and northeast India registered 14 per cent less rainfall than normal, according to the data.

The country experienced an 11 per cent rainfall deficit in June, followed by an excess of 9 per cent in July, 15.3 per cent in August, and 11.6 per cent in September.

Only three meteorological subdivisions recorded deficient rainfall this monsoon season.

India’s geographical area is divided into 36 meteorological subdivisions. Twenty-one subdivisions recorded normal rainfall, 10 experienced excess rainfall, and two saw large excess rainfall. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

While floods in Assam and heavy rainfall-induced landslides in Kerala have drawn global attention, 25 per cent of the 36 meteorological subdivisions in India are still reeling from a rainfall deficit halfway through the monsoon season.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the country experienced nine per cent more rainfall than normal in July (306.6 mm compared to the normal of 280.5 mm) with a cumulative precipitation of 453.8 mm against the normal of 445.8 mm since June 1, a surplus of two per cent.

However, the rainfall in July was unevenly distributed, both spatially and temporally.

East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, and parts of the northeast have recorded significant rainfall deficits.

The rainfall deficit in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir ranged from 35 per cent to 45 per cent.

The rainfall deficit in East and Northeast India increased from 13.3 per cent on June 30 to 19 per cent on July 31, with the region recording 610.2 mm of rainfall against the normal of 752.5 mm so far this monsoon season.

Northwest India recorded 182.4 mm of rainfall in July, compared to the normal of 209.7 mm, a deficit of 13 per cent. The region has received 235 mm of rainfall so far this monsoon season, against the normal of 287.8 mm, a shortfall of 18 per cent.

Central India received 33 per cent more rainfall than normal in July, with 427.2 mm of precipitation compared to the normal of 321.3 mm. Overall, the region has recorded 574.2 mm of rainfall so far this monsoon season, against the normal of 491.6 mm.

The southern peninsula received 36 per cent more rainfall in July, with 279.2 mm compared to the normal of 204.5 mm. Overall, it has recorded 463.1 mm of rainfall so far this monsoon season, against the normal of 365.5 mm, an excess of 27 per cent.

According to IMD data, the rainfall deficit in Gangetic West Bengal stands at 40 per cent, with all 15 districts recording below-normal precipitation. Jharkhand has received 41 per cent less rainfall than normal, with all 24 districts in the deficient category.

Odisha has a rainfall deficit of 11 per cent, with 12 of its 30 districts in the deficient category. All but five districts in Bihar have recorded a significant rainfall deficiency, resulting in an overall 36 per cent deficit for the state so far this monsoon season.

The rainfall shortage in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand stands at 15 per cent and four percent, respectively.

Nineteen out of the 22 districts in Haryana have recorded below-normal rainfall, with the overall deficit standing at 43 per cent. The rainfall deficit in Punjab is 45 per cent, with only three of the 22 districts recording normal rainfall.

Jammu and Kashmir, which has been reeling from a rare and severe heat wave, has recorded 37 per cent below-normal rainfall.

The IMD had earlier predicted normal to above-normal rainfall over most parts of the country, except many parts of northeast India and some parts of northwest, east, and southeast peninsular India.

The weather department expected above-normal rainfall activity in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and the foothills of the western Himalayas.

Kerala, where heavy rainfall-induced landslides have claimed over 150 lives, has received four per cent less rainfall than usual.

Delhi, where 15 people have died in rain-related incidents, has received eight per cent below-normal rainfall.

In central and west India, Goa has received 50 per cent surplus precipitation, Maharashtra 39 per cent, Gujarat 23 per cent, and Madhya Pradesh seven per cent.

In southern India, Tamil Nadu received 56 per cent surplus rainfall, Andhra Pradesh 43 per cent, Karnataka 33 per cent, and Puducherry 20 per cent.

The Indian monsoon is characterised by inherent fluctuations and changes that occur over time due to various natural factors. This is called natural variability. However, research shows climate change is making the monsoon more variable. Increased variability means more extreme weather and dry spells.

According to the IMD, below-normal rainfall is expected in northeast India during the entire season, normal in the northwest, and above-normal in central and south peninsular regions of the country.

India’s core monsoon zone, covering most of the rain-fed agricultural areas in the country, is predicted to receive above-normal rainfall this season, the Met office said.

The monsoon is critical for India’s agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it. The primary rain-bearing system is also crucial for replenishing reservoirs critical for drinking water and power generation across the country.

June and July are considered the most important monsoon months for agriculture, as most of the sowing for the Kharif crop takes place during this period.

Weather agencies expect La Nina conditions to set in by August.

La Nina, a buildup of cooler-than-normal waters in the central Pacific Ocean, is associated with plentiful rainfall in the Indian subcontinent during the monsoon season.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Heavy rainfall across large parts of India has compensated for the June deficit, bringing the overall monsoon precipitation into the surplus category.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), more spells of heavy to very heavy rain are likely over northwest India and the western parts of the peninsular India during the next two-three days and over the northeast during the next five days.

India, the world’s top producer of critical crops such as rice, wheat and sugarcane, logged a rainfall deficit of 11 percent in June, with northwest India recording a shortfall of 33 per cent.

Heavy rain in the first week of July compensated for the shortfall but caused flooding in many northeastern states.

Since the four-month monsoon season began on June 1, the country has received 214.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 213.3 mm, according to IMD data.

Northwest India and the southern peninsula have recorded 3 per cent and 13 per cent above-normal rainfall, respectively.

The heavy rain in the east and northeast region has reduced the deficit from 13 per cent on June 30 to zero on July 6.

The rainfall deficit in central India has decreased from 14 per cent to 6 per cent during this period.

The IMD data showed that 23 per cent of the sub-divisional area of the country experienced excess to large excess rainfall, 67 percent received normal rainfall, and only 10 per cent experienced deficient rainfall.

After making an early onset over Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, and progressing normally up to Maharashtra, the monsoon lost momentum.

This delayed the rains in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh and exacerbated the impact of a scorching heatwave in northwest India.

Monsoonal winds stalled from June 10 to June 18 and made slow progress until June 26-27. The annual rain-bearing system covered a major part of northwest India after June 25, according to IMD data.

The weather department on Saturday said heavy rainfall will continue in northeast India over the next five days.

The northeastern states are already grappling with severe floods.

Assam’s flood situation remains critical, with over 2.45 million people affected and 52 lives lost in the second wave of flooding this year.

Heavy rainfall in Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh has caused rivers to reach warning levels and triggered landslides.

The IMD earlier this week said India could experience above-normal rainfall in July, and heavy rain may lead to floods in the hilly states and river basins in the central parts of the country.

Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Nepal-based intergovernmental organisation, have also warned about a difficult monsoon season for the countries in the Hindukush Himalayan region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

IMD data shows that in 20 out of the 25 years when June rainfall was below normal (less than 92 percent of the long-period average), July rainfall was normal (94-106 percent of LPA) or above normal.

In 17 of the 25 years when June rainfall was below normal, the seasonal rainfall was normal or above normal, the IMD said.

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