Rain-driving low-pressure systems have brought six per cent more rain than normal for the country during the past week ending Wednesday.
It was only two per cent below average the previous week, which is still within the normal range.
ELUSIVE ‘LOW’S
The low-pressure systems had remained elusive during June and July as the Bay of Bengal, where these get generated, idled.
But things started falling into place from the latter part of July, reversing the ‘drought conditions’ in the Bay.
Rains, too, have followed, though their spatial distribution leaves much to be desired still.
Parts of north-west India, peninsular as well as east India continue to show a rain deficit. Gujarat, where only scanty rains have fell, has fared worse.
The overall deficit remains 12 per cent, though it is a significant improvement over what a bad June and July seemed to portend.
Meanwhile, Climate Prediction Centre of the US National Weather Services has signalled to fresh rains developing in the Indian Ocean during the next seven days.
MORE RAINS
Entire eastern Arabian Sea (covering Lakshadweep Islands); the west coast from Konkan-Goa to Kanyakumari; southern peninsula (southern Maharashtra, southern Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu) and entire south Bay of Bengal (Andaman and Nicobar included) will all come under rain cover during this period.
An extended outlook by the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction said that the ‘productive monsoon’ session would continue to hold until mid-September.
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) update on Thursday evening said that the monsoon was vigorous over coastal Karnataka during the past 24 hours.
FRESH ‘LOW’
It was only slightly less intensive over Konkan, Goa, south interior Karnataka, Kerala, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Meanwhile, a fresh low-pressure area has formed over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been forecast over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, west Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next two days.
Heavy rainfall may also lash coastal Karnataka, Kerala, the northeastern states, east Rajasthan and Haryana during this period.