Rainfall is likely to increase over the foothills of the Himalayas and Western Himalayan region. Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar
As the second half of Southwest Monsoon begins, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday predicted normal rains in August and September. Met departments’ observations till the end of July suggests that distribution of rainfall was very good across the country except for Bihar, Jharkhand and north-eastern states. Raising hopes for agriculture operations during Kharif season, it said favourable distribution of rainfall is expected during the next two months. Rainfall is likely to increase over the foothills of the Himalayas and Western Himalayan region during August 5 to 7 and strengthen the moist easterlies.
“The rainfall during August-2018 is likely to be 96 plus/minus 9 pc of LPA and expected to be higher than predicted in June. Quantitatively, the rainfall for the country as a whole during the second half of the season is likely to be 95 per cent of LPA (Long Period Average ) with a model error of plus or minus 8 pc,” the IMD said.
Meanwhile, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, has downgraded its forecast for this year’s monsoon, stating that the country might receive below normal rainfall, citing the continuing warming of the sea surface in the Pacific Ocean. “The rainfall during August-2018 is likely to be 96 plus/minus 9 pc of LPA and expected to be higher than predicted in June. Quantitatively, the rainfall for the country as a whole during the second half of the season is likely to be 95 per cent of LPA (Long Period Average ) with a model error of plus or minus 8 pc,” the IMD said.
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, the weather is expected to be cloudy with light rain for the next two-three days.
“The maximum temperature is likely to hover at 34 degrees Celsius in Delhi,” the weatherman said.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to occur at isolated places especially in Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Chamoli, Nainital, Pithoragarh and US Nagar districts during next 72 hours, reported IMD.