New Delhi: The 2024 monsoon season has ended with 7.6 per cent more rainfall than normal, the India Meteorological Department said Tuesday.
Rajasthan, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh got excess rainfall, according to the IMD data.
The monsoon is critical for India’s agricultural sector, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area dependent on it.
This primary rain-bearing system is also essential for replenishing reservoirs that provide drinking water and support power generation across the country.
Above normal rainfall is expected in several parts of central, southern peninsular, and northeast India from October to December, IMD said.
The IMD also said above-normal maximum temperatures are likely in most parts of the country in October, except for certain areas in central India and the adjoining southern peninsula.
During a virtual press conference, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said above normal rainfall is expected over the southern peninsula, covering five meteorological subdivisions — Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Kerala, and south interior Karnataka — during the post-monsoon (northeast monsoon) season from October to December.
The IMD estimates that the region could receive more than 112 per cent of the long-period average of 334.13 mm of rainfall.
Above normal rainfall is also likely in several parts of central India and some areas in northeast India.
However, most parts of northwest India, some regions of northeast India, and the southernmost parts of the country are expected to receive normal to below normal rainfall, it added.
The weather department predicted above-normal rainfall — more than 115 per cent of the long-period average of 75.4 mm — for the country in October.
“The spatial distribution suggests above-normal rainfall in many parts of the country during October. However, some areas in northeast and northwest India, as well as a few pockets in the southern peninsula, are likely to experience normal to below normal rainfall,” the IMD said.
PNN & Agencies