India had its driest June in five years due to a delay in monsoon rains, the India Meteorological Department said late on Sunday, raising fears for crops and the broader economy.
Overall, rains were one-third below average, although in some states, including the sugar-cane growing northern state of Uttar Pradesh, they were as much as 61 percent down, department data showed.
More than half of India’s arable land relies on rainfall, while agriculture makes up about 15 percent of Asia’s third-largest economy, which is already suffering a slowdown.
Photo: AP
The monsoon usually covers nearly the entire country by July 1, but has covered less than two-thirds so far this year, the data showed.
If the rains do not improve over the next two to three weeks, India could face a crisis that hammers harvests and rural demand, analysts said.
Companies supplying farmers with everything from tractors to consumer goods would be vulnerable.
The country is still recovering from a drought last year that ravaged crops, killed livestock, emptied reservoirs and drained water supplies to city dwellers and some industries.
Rains first arrived in the southern state of Kerala a week late on June 8, but the developing Cyclone Vayu in the Arabian Sea drew moisture from the monsoon and weakened its progress.
Cotton, soybean and pulses growing western and central parts of India are likely to get good rainfall in the first half of this month, but rains could be below average in northern India, said a department official, who declined to be named, as he was not authorized to speak with media.
In the second half of this month, rainfall in northwestern India could improve, but rains in central and western India could be subdued, the official said.
Overall, India faces below-average rainfall this month, but the deficit is likely to be far smaller than last month’s 33 percent, he said.
In 2014, India received 42 percent less rainfall in June and ended the June-to-September monsoon season with rains 12 percent below average.
Meanwhile, heavy rains yesterday battered India’s financial capital of Mumbai, causing disruption to the commuter train network, snarling traffic on water-logged streets and delaying flights from the country’s second-busiest airport.
The city has been hit by heavy rain since Sunday night and could get more over the next 24 hours, the department said.
Suburban trains were delayed by as much as two hours because the tracks were submerged under water, while some long-distance trains were canceled.
Several flights were delayed by about half an hour, a Mumbai International Airport spokeswoman said.
Thousands of commuters were stranded in trains and vehicles during peak morning hours as they tried to reach offices.
“Fifty minutes train journey took two-and-a-half hours today, as railway tracks were flooded,” said Ketan Bondre, who works for a private company.
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