Telangana: 44% less rain in June, July may be the same

HYDERABAD: After being delayed for about two weeks, monsoon was deficient in June and there is little hope that things will improve in July. The forecast for the new month appears to be scanty rainfall and high temperatures.

In June, the state received 44 per cent less rainfall than is the norm, 72.6 mm against 129.4 mm, according to the TS Development and Planning Society report. The state day average rainfall as of June 30 was 0.7 m against 4.9 mm normal rainfall.

Statewide, the highest rainfall deviation was recorded in Peddapalli district at -74 per cent, with an actual rainfall of 42.4 mm against the normal of 161.8 per cent.

In the GHMC area, it rained 77.1 mm against the normal of 105.4 mm, less by 27 per cent, the society said.

The outlook for July, Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of meteorology and climate change, Skymet Weather, told Deccan Chronicle, “does not look promising. Deficiency will persist as we do not expect any significant rainfall over Telangana.”

He said there would be mostly scattered rains over the state for at least ten days. There might be a few spells of moderate rain but heavy rainfall was not indicated in July, Palawat said.

IMD officials said that the rainfall was expected to be normal in July, with an increase after July 4. It said there would be less rainfall in the second week but increased rainfall in the third and fourth week.

Warm and dry

• June remained warm on most days, and it didn’t rain as much as expected.
• Experts are divided over the forecast for July, the IMD saying rainfall would be normal but Skymet predicting a dry July.
• In June, there were eight ‘red category’ districts — Khammam, Rajanna Sircilla, Mulugu, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Hanmakonda, Jagtial, Karimnagar and Peddapalli — recording a large deficit of 66 to 99 per cent.
• Seventeen districts recorded deficient rainfall of 22 per cent to 59 per cent: Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Siddipet, Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Jangaon, Mahbubnagar, Suryapet, Komaram Bheem, Mahbubabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nirmal, Mancherial, Adilabad, Warangal, Nizamabad, and Kamareddy
• Only eight districts received normal rainfall in the range of 19 per cent to minus-19: Nalgonda, Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Ranga Reddy, Nagarkurnool, Sangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvangiri and  Medak.