Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has recorded 14 per cent less than normal rainfall this monsoon, while tribal-dominated Alirajpur district, where kharif crop cultivation has been severely affected by lack of rain, has seen a 78 per cent deficit so far.
The India Meteorological Department shared this data on Tuesday.
The state recorded 286.8 mm of rain since last June 1, compared to an average rainfall level of 335.3 mm during this period.
Alirajpur received only 64.8 mm of rainfall during the period under review, compared to the normal rainfall level of 297.9 mm in the district, according to the data.
“Due to extremely low rainfall, only 1.16 lakh hectares of crops like soybean, maize, black gram, cotton and groundnut have been grown in the district so far, compared to 1.89 lakh hectares last year. Deficit of rain has also affected crop growth,” Dr RK Yadav, chief scientist and head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Foundation in Alirajpur, told PTI.
He said farmers are advised to consider planting short-lived, low-water-consuming crops like moong, jowar and millet if there is not adequate rainfall in the next few days.
According to IMD data, the distribution of rainfall in the state was highly uneven. The eastern state of Madhya Pradesh recorded 18 per cent less rainfall than normal, while the western part recorded an 11 per cent deficit.
Rewa was the worst affected district in the eastern region of the state, where rainfall was 59 per cent below normal. The cities of Maihar, Singrauli, Narsinghpur and Siddhi also witnessed significant rainfall deficiency. However, Newari received 10 per cent more rainfall than normal.
The picture was mixed in western Madhya Pradesh. Dewas emerged as the wettest district in the state, recording 460.3 mm of rainfall, 51 per cent more than normal. Indore, Bhind, Burhanpur and Bhopal also received above normal rainfall.
Districts like Jhabua, Narmadapuram, Dhar, Datia, Shivpuri and Morena recorded 33 to 45 per cent less rainfall than normal.
Ratlam, Barwani, Shajapur, Ashoknagar and Gwalior also received below normal rainfall, while Khandwa, Khargone, Rajgarh and Ujjain recorded near normal rainfall.
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