As rain showers picks up significantly, there has been an improvement in monsoon trends in central and northwestern India. The pace of sowing of kharif crops has also stayed stable, while water storage levels have almost doubled year-on-year.
As of July 7, the all-India cumulative rainfall was at 14.6 percent above the long-period average (LPA), based on India Metrological department (IMD) data analysis by Barclays. Surplus rainfall in the central region (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat) has increased to 42 percent above LPA, while in the northwest (UP, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan), it has remained sizeable at 37 percent. However, the southern and northeastern regions continue to face deficit rains.
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Till July 4, the area covered under kharif crops is 40 percent of the normal area sown.
With surplus rainfall on an all-India basis rising, reservoir storage levels have also improved. As of July 3, the storage in key reservoirs was at 43 percent of the total capacity. During the same time last year, water storage in key reservoirs was at 20 percent only.
(Rain Watch is a weekly series that monitors India"s monsoon, tracking detailed insights on rainfall trends, regional distribution variations, water reservoir levels and sowing progress of essential kharif crops. This is the third year of Forbes India tracking the intersection of climate patterns and agri-economics.)
