India prepares emergency plans for weak monsoon | Weather News

Rainfall so far has decreased by 43 percent, and this is expected to affect India’s crops.

India is making plans to prepare for less-than-usual monsoon rains that could damage crops in the world’s most populous country.

The rainy season so far has brought rainfall about 43 percent below average, and India’s Meteorological Department has predicted more rain during the week ending July 2, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh ⁠Chouhan said on Tuesday.

The monsoon provides about 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall and is critical to replenishing water sources in a country of less than 1.4 billion people, where nearly half of the land is not irrigated and nearly half of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The rains usually reach Kerala, in southwest India, on June 1, and sweep northwards. This is very important for the economy of this country which allows farmers to plant cotton, soybeans, sugarcane, rice and corn.

This year, they he arrived three days late in Kerala, raising concerns about the impact on India’s $4 trillion economy.

Climate change is climate change as well raising the temperature of the core in India, and El Nino weather this year has brought warnings of less rain.

There was a big sigh of relief in Mumbai on Tuesday when the first rains fell after weeks of scorching heat, much to the delight of most of Mumbai’s 22 million people, although some neighboring areas received only a little rain.

“The Southwest Monsoon has also moved over the remaining parts of the Arabian Sea, as well as parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai,” the Meteorological Department said.

Authorities in Mumbai restricted water use last week, limiting bathing facilities and construction sites.

Many people slept on the beach to take a break from the night’s heavy rain, in a small city where most people live without air conditioning.

Chouhan said water conservation should be given top priority due to this year’s severe weather conditions.

“Every drop of water is precious and preparations are being made with that aim in mind,” he said, adding that this includes immediate rehabilitation and strengthening of dams, ponds, rivers and dams.

Worries about crops, food prices and economic growth intensified last month when the Meteorological Department warned that a weakened El Nino storm in 2026 could bring the country’s hottest weather in 11 years.

Australia’s Meteorological Agency warned earlier this month that El Nino has formed in the tropical Pacific and could intensify in the second half of the year, becoming one of the worst in seven decades.