By Priyanka Deshpande
Published July 15, 2024
CNBC-TV18.com
One-third of India has experienced deficient rainfall, according to the latest data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Agricultural states such as Haryana, Punjab, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh have seen a large number of districts with insufficient rainfall, the IMD report stated.
Uttar Pradesh experienced deficient monsoon conditions in 29 districts; Chhattisgarh in 21; Odisha in 20; Gujarat in 19; Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand in 16; Bihar in 15; and Punjab in 14, as reported by the New Indian Express.
Of the 729 districts, around 33% reported deficient monsoon, while 5% of districts recorded severely deficient rainfall.
Currently, the districts with deficient rainfall are spread across 11 sub-meteorological divisions, accounting for 31% of the country's area.
However, 18 sub-meteorological divisions, covering 53% of the country, fall under the average rainfall category.
In June, Patna experienced a 77% rainfall deficit, while Bihar as a whole had a 50% deficit.
By July, the monsoon winds had strengthened, reducing the overall deficit to 31%, although 15 districts in Bihar continued to report deficient rainfall.