Indian Govt Downgrades Monsoon Forecast to 88%

Rainfall below 90% is considered as drought year: IMD

India’s June-September monsoon rains will most likely be “deficient” this year and India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) has revised its earlier forecast from 93% to 88%, said the country’s earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

A five-day delay in the arrival of the monsoons has also been forecast, as large parts of the country experience a searing heatwave that has killed more than 2,500.

“The rain-bearing system, that typically begins its four-month journey across India on June 1 in Kerala, is also crucial for power, drinking and irrigation. A bad monsoon hits power production since hydropower accounts for a quarter of India’s electricity output, critical for industry and households alike,” said a report.

Rainfall in NW India is likely to be 85 percent of the Long-Term Average (LPA), 90% of LPA over the Central region, 92% of LPA over South Peninsula and 92% of LPA over the Northeast, with a margin of error of ±8%,  the minister added.

Minister Blames Climate Change

“Let us not fool ourselves that there is no connection between the unusual number of deaths from the ongoing heat wave and the certainty of another failed monsoon. It’s not just an unusually hot summer, it is climate change,” said Vardhan.

India is Asia’s third-largest economy and world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The world’s second most populous country [pop: more than 1.2 billion,] India is home to 194 million hungry people—the highest number globally.