IMD says monsoons in August to be 'below normal' this year; 26% deficiency recorded in rainfall

New Delhi: The rainfall in August has been deficient by 26 percent so far, with shortfalls in two successive months triggering fear of a below normal monsoon this year.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the rainfall in July was seven percent less than normal."August recorded 26 percent deficiency till yesterday (28 August)," IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said, adding that the shortfall has been recorded in north and central India.June recorded 10 percent more rainfall.The IMD will soon release a forecast for September, he said.The shortfalls in two successive months in the four-month Southwest Monsoon season from 1 June to 30 September have triggered fear of a below normal monsoon this year.The IMD had earlier predicted a normal monsoon this year.Skymet Weather, a private weather forecasting agency, has downgraded their forecast to a "below normal" monsoon this year.According to the IMD data, the country received 10 percent less rainfall from 1 June to 28 August.The IMD had predicted normal rainfall for August (94 to 106 percent of Long Period Average or LPA), but it appears that the forecast will be off the mark.Rainfall over the country as a whole during the second half (August to September) of the 2021 Southwest Monsoon season is most likely to be normal with a tendency to be in the positive side of the normal, the IMD had said earlier this month.Data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday showed that the area of paddy cultivation was marginally down by 1.23 percent to 388.56 lakh hectare so far in the 2021-22 kharif season due to deficit rains in some states.The IMD has four meteorological divisions covering different parts of the country. The northwest India which covers the north Indian plains and the hill states has recorded 13 percent less rainfall than normal.The central India division which encompasses Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra has recorded 14 per cent deficiency. The east and northeast India division that includes Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the northeastern states has recorded eight percent deficiency.The south peninsula division which covers all the southern states has recorded 5 percent more rainfall than normal.