Monsoon to make comeback after break

There is some good news on the monsoon front. After a break of two weeks, it is all set to revive. Most parts of central India that were largely dry for most of July can look forward to heavy rain in the next few days.

There is some good news on the monsoon front. After a break of two weeks, it is all set to revive. Most parts of central India that were largely dry for most of July can look forward to heavy rain in the next few days.

According to the Met department, the rain-bearing system is revving up in the Arabian Sea and will move towards the Indian coast by August 2. A low pressure area is also developing in the Bay of Bengal. Both these systems will last till August 10.

The Arabian Sea system will bring rain to Peninsular India, starting August 2 . By then, a fresh flow will come from Bay of Bengal which will bring much-needed rain to Central India8212;North Andhra, North Telangana, South Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh 8212; and will move forward westwards towards the coast.

The Western coast, specially Konkan and Goa, would get heavy rains for the next 10 days. Eastern India will get some relief from the incessant rain of the last few days. Northern India will have to wait a little as this monsoon trough is a bit South of the normal.

This news is expected to be a major relief as a break in monsoon beyond a two-week period would have been detrimental for crops. Most of crops of central and peninsular India depend on the July-August spell of rain. After sowing in late June, farmers wait for a good spell for transplanting rice. This year, after initial alarm, the monsoon has just made it in time. According to experts in the Government, it is now important to monitor whether the revival will sustain for the entire month.

There may be a pattern in these breaks that could have implications for agriculture and planning: 8220;Analysis of 100-year old monsoon data shows that pre-1975, there were more breaks in August. Ever since, the breaks have shifted to July,8221; said Akhilesh Gupta, advisor, Ministry of Science and Technology.

There was reason to worry in July. The month started with 18 per cent more than normal. It ended with just over 2 per cent.

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In the week ending July 25, rainfall was deficient by 30 per cent with 15 subdivisions receiving scanty rainfall and 10 receiving deficient rainfall. The only area that had a lot of rain was the North East and Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.