Less rains to dampen spirits in July, August

Hyderabad: The southwest monsoon will be less than normal in July and August, according to the extended range forecast of the India Meteorological Department.

Met officials said that from the very first forecast, they had maintained that 2015 would be a less than normal monsoon year.

AP and Telangana will get up to 8 per cent less rain in July and 10 per cent less than normal in August.

In June, the monsoon was 28 per cent more than normal, or excess, in coastal AP and Telangana. Rayalaseema received normal rainfall.

However, rainfall activity in the last one week in the two states has become scant. In the week from June 26, Rayalaseema recorded deficient rains and Telangana and coastal AP, scant rains 60-90 per cent less rainfall than the normal.

Temperatures across both the states were 2ºC to 4ºC more than normal due to scant rainfall activity. There is no low pressure and it is only a trough, said Mr Narasimha Rao, assistant meteorologist, IMD.

The conditions will not change until there is a low pressure or depression in the Bay of Bengal, he said. For the next five days, light to moderate rains or thundershowers have been forecast in isolated places in Telangana, and AP.

Meanwhile, the sowing of paddy, the main kharif crop, has started picking up in major growing areas. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh have sown the crop in 78 per cent of the average normal area. Telangana has seen similar progress, according to government data.