Heena Sharma Blog

  The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average with the weather department predicting rains during the day. The relative humidity was recorded at 80 per cent. The maximum temperature will hover around 35 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said. It has predicted generally cloudy sky with very light rain or drizzle in the afternoon or evening. The air quality index was recorded in the "moderate" category at 104, real-time data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". Read More

  India is likely to receive above average rainfall in September, the state-run weather office said on Wednesday, helping millions of farmers who had to endure patchy rains in July and August. Monsoon rains were 10% above average in June. "According to critical weather parameters, rains are most likely to be above normal in September this year," Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a news conference. The IMD defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 88 cms (34 inches) for the four-month season beginning in June. After lashing the southernmost Kerala coast on June 3, the monsoon spread to two-thirds of India by the end of the first half of the month, nearly 15 days earlier than expected. And then it tapered off in the third week of June. Read More  

India, one of the world's biggest agricultural producers, experienced its heaviest monsoon rains in 25 years this year. While rain would normally cheer the agricultural heartland, the monsoon was erratic and has left many crops damaged. WHY IS THE MONSOON IMPORTANT? India is the world's biggest producer of sugar, cotton and pulses and the second-biggest producer of wheat and rice. The success of these crops is largely determined by the June-September monsoon, which delivers about 70 per cent of the country's annual rainfall. The monsoon is also critical for the wider economy. Farming makes up about 15 per cent of the $2.5 trillion economy and employs more than half of the country's 130 crore people. While crops in the ground have been damaged by the monsoon, the rains have replenished reservoirs and ground water reserves, which augurs well for India's rural economy in 2020. WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THIS MONSOON? A prolonged dry spell resulted in sign