Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: After one of the driest Junes in over a century, the southwest monsoon has picked up pace in early July, easing worries in the countryside even as the India Meteorological Department expects the month’s rainfall to stay a little below normal. July is the season’s wettest and most decisive stretch for India’s rain-fed farms.
June delivered about 99.5 mm of rain, roughly 40% below normal and among the leanest Junes since records began in 1901, which left kharif sowing running behind schedule. The IMD’s July outlook puts rainfall below the long-period average, though the north-west, north-east, east-central and eastern peninsular regions may see normal-to-above-normal showers — and cumulative rain has been recovering as monsoon activity revives.
Catching up: A late-June recovery in rainfall is giving farmers a window to make up lost time on paddy, pulses and oilseeds.
Monsoon arithmetic is about timing as much as totals — a strong, well-spread July can still rescue a season that began dry.
At a Glance
- June rain: ~99.5 mm, about 40% below normal (among driest since 1901)
- July outlook: Below-normal overall; some regions normal-to-above
- Why July matters: Wettest month; key for rain-fed paddy, pulses, oilseeds
- Trend: Rainfall and sowing recovering as activity revives
The near-term challenge is real — reservoir levels, drinking-water supply and sowing all lean on July and August. Central and state agencies have contingency plans, from short-duration seed varieties to advisories that help farmers re-time planting to the rain they actually get.
The constructive path is preparedness in motion: matching seed and credit to the revised calendar, keeping reservoirs and irrigation ready to bridge dry spells, and using India’s dense weather-forecast network so that a slow start becomes a manageable season rather than a lost one.
