MUMBAI: India’s monsoon rains have advanced into the western state of Maharashtra after covering almost all of the southern region, but they could weaken and deliver lower-than-normal rainfall next week, two senior weather officials told Reuters.
Summer rains, critical to spur economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy, usually begin in the south around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.
The monsoon arrived in Maharashtra on Thursday after spreading through the southern states earlier than usual, a senior official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told Reuters.
Maharashtra is India’s biggest producer of sugar and its second largest producer of cotton and soybeans.
India has received 7 percent more rainfall than normal since the season began on June 1, the IMD says. The monsoon will advance further across India in the next few days but could weaken from next week, another weather official said.
“The monsoon will take a pause for few days,” the official added. “Except for the west coast, most of the other regions will receive less rain,” the official added.
Farmers need to wait for proper moisture levels in the soil before sowing summer crops and should not sow them in a hurry, the official said.
Both officials sought anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The lifeblood of the nearly $3.5-trillion economy, the monsoon brings nearly 70 percent of the rain India needs to water farms and refill reservoirs and aquifers.
In the absence of irrigation, nearly half the farmland in the world’s second-biggest producer of rice, wheat and sugar depends on the annual rains that usually run from June to September.
India’s monsoon hits key western state, may falter next week, sources say
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India’s monsoon hits key western state, may falter next week, sources say
Floods ravage Minas Gerais, killing 36 as rescuers race to find dozens missing
- Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes
- 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil: Dozens are still missing in southeastern Brazil on Wednesday after floods killed at least 36 people in the state of Minas Gerais, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams worked through the night, as heavy rain is expected in the region in the next few days.
All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.
Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes as of Wednesday morning.
The streets of Juiz de Fora, a city of 560,000 residents, were covered in mud as authorities feared more landslides. Life in neighboring Uba, with its 107,000 residents, came to a stop. Classes were suspended in both cities, their mayors said.
Juiz de Fora’s City Hall said in a statement that around 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters and that the city experienced double the rain expected for February. Mayor Margarida Salomão said at least 20 landslides had been reported since the torrential rain began Monday evening.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels that security forces have been deployed on rescue missions and are providing immediate assistance to the population affected by the rain. He also said health care teams had been sent to the region, which lies close to hills, valleys and slopes.
