No Rains in 243 Districts in Jan-Feb; El Nino May Reduce Rainfall this Year

New Delhi: Rainfall deficiency was reported in 85 per cent of India in the first two months of the year 2023. As per the IMD data, 264 of the 717 districts in the country received no rain between January 1 and February 27.

As per the data available on the IMD website for 717 districts for the period between January 1, 2023, and February 27, 2023, around 243 districts had ‘large deficiency’ and 100 per cent ‘deficiency’ of rains. Only 54 districts received ‘normal’ rainfall during the period. Seventeen had had ‘excess’ and 36 ‘large excess’ rainfall in this period.

February is considered the rainiest month in winter. But during this period Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand remained dry with practically ‘no rains’.

Overall, 37 % of the country received ‘no rain’, 34 % is ‘largely deficient’, 14% ‘deficient’, 8% ‘normal’, 2% ‘excess’, and 5% ‘large excess’. The month of March, too, is expected to be largely rain deficit.

Weather experts fear that El Nino may affect the monsoons this year. According to statistics, about 60% of the time there will be a probability of drought in the country during an El Nino year. If an El Nino state does emerge by summer, India is more than likely to see a deficit monsoon.

More than two-thirds of the country’s agriculture depends upon monsoon and seasonal rains. Rains in any part of the year are crucial for agriculture and replenish reservoirs and groundwater.