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Dry weather since end-June has wiped out all surplus in southwest monsoon, and rains between June 1 and July 5 are barely normal at 206.7 millimeters.
The surplus in almost all the regions of the country has come down in the last few days and if rains do not return in the next few days, things might start getting worse.
In northwest India, the monsoon so far is just five per cent above normal, while in central and southern India, it is two per cent above normal.
In east and northeast India, rainfall is four per cent below normal. The quantum of rains in east and northeast India is higher than other regions and hence, any let-up in cloudburst pulls down the percentages.
In June, the first of the four-month southwest monsoon, the rains were 16 per cent above normal. This enhanced the sowing of kharif crops, given that more than 90 per cent of the country received above average rainfall.
The last data from the department of agriculture showed the total area sown under kharif crops so far has been almost 57.5 per cent more than last year over 30.60 million hectares.
The area under coarse cereals, which till now was less than last year's, improved during the week due to good rainfall over eastern India, where maize is grown in large quantities. Coarse cereals have been planted over 4.37 million hectares as against 2.89 million hectares during the same period last year.
Rice, which is the biggest foodgrain grown during the kharif season, was sown over 5.40 million hectares, up from 5.35 million hectares sown in the same period last year.
But since then rains have taken a break, which has reignited fears of overall below-normal monsoon season this year. Rains in the week that ended July 2 were almost 14 per cent below average across the country, the first weekly drop this season. However, there was some hope on the horizon as the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its last weekly update, has said that rainfall activity would be above normal over the northwest, central and some parts of eastern India during July 6-10.
