India’s stalled monsoon to gain momentum in 3-4 days: weather officials

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, June 20 (Reuters) – India’s stalled monsoon is likely to gain momentum in the next three to four days and could cover the key growing region of rice, soybeans, cotton and sugarcane in the southern states. south, center and west, said the weather. authorities said Tuesday.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of India’s $3 trillion economy, provides nearly 70% of the rainfall needed to irrigate its farms and recharge reservoirs and aquifers. It also brings relief from the worst of summer.

The rains usually hit the state of Kerala, on India’s southwestern coast, from around June 1 and cover almost half of the country by mid-June.

This year, the formation of severe cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea it delayed the onset of the monsoon and restricted its progress to only a third of the country so far.

“Conditions are turning favorable for a strengthening monsoon. It will progress rapidly from this weekend in the central, western and northern parts of the country,” said a senior official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Cotton, soybeans and pulses are grown mainly in the central part of the country, which is the largest importer of vegetable oils and pulses and the main producer of cotton.

So far in June, India has received 33% less rainfall than normal, although in some states the deficit is as high as 95%.

“Based on the information we have now, it looks like the monsoon rains will be good this week,” IMD CEO Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

The IMD has planned below average rainfall for Juneand the monsoon is expected to increase in July, August and September.

However, for the entire quarter, the IMD has forecast an average amount of rainfall despite the formation of a possible The boy Meteorological phenomenon.

A strong El Niño, marked by a warming of the sea surface in the Pacific Ocean, can cause severe drought in Southeast Asia, India, and Australia, while rain falls in other parts of the world, such as the US Midwest. . and Brazil.

The onset of a strong El Niño triggered back-to-back droughts in 2014 and 2015 for the fourth time in more than a century, pushing Indian farmers into extreme poverty.

Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Edited by Sohini Goswami

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.