It has been predicted that India this year is unlikely to be hit by a drought or heavy downpours that lead to floods during this year’s monsoon. DS Pai, the head of the country’s long range weather forecaster informed about the positive forecast.
Such a news is indeed a relief from the agricultural point of view as there will not be any threat from the adverse weather. For two years in a row India has recorded a bumper foodgrain harvest and now any fall in the marketing year from July 1 could jeopardized the food security programme.
Though the monsoon rains is expected to be normal, the weather office says that there are also chances of an EI Nino event which is expected to occur between June and September. The EI Nino event is a condition with lower rainfall, which usually results in drought like conditions.
The Chief of the National Climatic Centre said, “An El Nino generally weakens monsoon rain, but as of now, it is neutral. Even if it builds up, it will likely be weak”. The four month long rainfall accounts for 70% of the rainfall in India which feeds 60% of the farmland. Moreover agriculture employs more than half of the workforce in India.
