Deficit rainfall in Northeast region

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, Jul 28, 2010 : Tripura, along with entire Northeast region, has recorded a 30 percent deficit rainfall in the current month of July.

Official sources in India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, on Wednesday Agartala recorded maximum temperature of 34.8 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature of 27.4 Celsius and the sky will remain partly cloudy, chances are there of light rain or thundershowers in some areas of the state.

MET said, the less rainfall in the region has drastically affected the agricultural production.

The IMD said, the first two months rain season (June and July) could have 789 Millimeter rainfalls, but rainfall recorded in these two months was only 527.5 Millimeter, which was a deficit of 33 percent.

Out of 527.5 MM rainfall, June recorded 457.5 MM rainfall, which was 36 percent higher from normal rainfall. But in July, there has been huge scarcity of normal rainfall, which was recorded about 75 percent deficits.

The deficit rainfall in July directly had an adverse effect on the paddy cultivation in NE region and rise in daily temperature.

After the onset of the monsoon in June, some parts of the Northeastern region witnessed heavy rainfall but subsequently the very less rainfall recorded in the region during last two months, said IMD.

The excess rainfall, coupled with floods have damaged crops in some parts of the northeast including Tripura, while deficit in monsoon rainfall would affect the production of various monsoon crops, including ‘Aaman rice’, said an official of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

IMD sources also said there was still possibility of heavy rain in many parts of NE region including Tripura in the coming weeks.