June Rainfall Near All-Time Low, HM Amit Shah Orders Drought-Risk Monitoring

Srinagar: With India facing a sharp rainfall deficit and forecasts pointing to below-normal monsoon activity in July, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the emerging situation and directed ministries to remain on high alert for potential drought conditions in parts of the country.
Chairing a high-level meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and senior officials, Shah said the Centre was “continuously monitoring” the impact of below-normal rainfall linked to El Nino and asked ministries to coordinate closely with states to minimise the impact on farmers and essential supplies, reports said.
“The government is continuously monitoring the situation regarding below-normal rainfall and potential drought conditions in certain parts of the country due to El Nino,” Shah said, according to an official statement.
The review comes after India recorded one of its driest Junes on record. The country received just 99.5 mm of rainfall during the month, around 40 per cent below normal, making it the fifth-lowest June rainfall since records began in 1901. Central India was the worst affected, recording a rainfall deficit of more than 50 per cent.
The Home Minister directed the Ministry of Agriculture and other concerned ministries to remain vigilant and work with state governments to advise farmers on crops suitable for areas experiencing deficient rainfall.
Shah also asked the Department of Water Resources to closely monitor reservoir levels across the country and emphasised the cultivation of less water-intensive crops such as millets, pulses and fodder to mitigate the impact of a weak monsoon.
The Union Home Minister further directed the Ministry of Power to ensure an uninterrupted and adequate supply of electricity, while reviewing the country’s preparedness to deal with any fallout from a prolonged rainfall deficit.
Officials informed the meeting that adequate stocks of essential food grains were available and that prices of essential commodities remained stable.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also forecast below-normal rainfall across the country in July, raising concerns over crop sowing, reservoir storage and water availability in several regions.
Apart from reviewing the monsoon situation, Shah directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to immediately depute an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to assess the damage caused by recent floods, flash floods and landslides.
The team will conduct on-the-spot assessments of damage to infrastructure, agriculture and residential areas to facilitate further assistance from the Centre.
Senior officials from the ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources, Power, Environment, Science and Technology, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, along with the Union Home Secretary and Agriculture Secretary, attended the meeting.
El Nio conditions are currently prevailing over the equatorial Pacific Ocean and are expected to strengthen during the June-September southwest monsoon season. The phenomenon is typically associated with weaker monsoon rainfall over India.
With the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) currently in a neutral phase, meteorologists say it is unlikely to offset the adverse impact of El Nio on this year’s monsoon.