Rainfall is now 3% above normal

Monsoon Watch

 After remaining subdued in the first few weeks of August, the southwest monsoon turned round on August 20, bringing abundant rainfall to most parts of the country and speeding up the recharging of reservoirs.

 Barring Kerala and north-interior Karnataka, all other parts of the country have now received normal to excess rainfall.

 The overall monsoon rainfall since the beginning of the season on June 1, which was 2 per cent above normal till August 20, stood at 3 per cent above normal by August 27.

 The rainfall has picked up since then, forcing farmers in many regions to pray for a spell of sunshine to avert damage to crops requiring less water.

 The prolonged wet spell is also reported to have led to pest build-up in some places, though pests and diseases have not yet started causing economic losses.

 A nearly 7 per cent above-normal precipitation since August 20 has helped Jammu and Kashmir and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to come out of the deficient rainfall bracket.

 Consequently, the number of sub-divisions receiving deficient rainfall