IMD forecasts normal rainfall in second-half of monsoon season after northwest, central divisions record deficit

New Delhi: Monsoon is likely to be normal in the second half of the four-month rainfall season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. In its Long Range Forecast for rainfall in the second half (August-September) of the 2020 Southwest Monsoon, the IMD said August is likely to receive rainfall that is 97 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA). “Quantitatively, the rainfall over the country as a whole during the second half of the season is likely to be 104 percent of the LPA with a model error of plus/minus 8 percent,” the IMD said. The LPA rainfall over the country for the 1961-2010 period is 88 centimetres. Monsoon in the range of 96-104 percent of the LPA is considered normal. The official rainfall season in the country is from 1 June to 30 September. The onset of monsoon over Kerala was on 1 June and until 30 July, the country had received one percent more rainfall than normal. The northwest division of the IMD has a 19-percent deficiency. It comprises Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The deficiency in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is 50 and 59 percent respectively. Delhi has also recorded a deficiency. The central India division has a three-percent deficiency. The division comprises Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The two Union territories have recorded deficient rainfall. The south peninsula meteorological division of the IMD has received 19 percent more rainfall than normal. The division covers Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry have received excess rainfall. The east and northeast India division has also recorded 12 percent more rainfall. The division comprises West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and the northeastern states. Meghalaya and Bihar have witnessed excess rainfall. However, the rainfall has been deficient in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.