rains

There is some good news for rain lovers in Mumbai and a warning bell for Brihanumbai Municipal Corporation to speed up its pre-monsoon preparations to avoid major flooding and long traffic jams. As you battle the sweltering heat, private weather forecasting agency, Skymet on Wednesday in its first forecast has said that good rainfall is expected this year.According to the report, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Raipur are expected to witness above normal rains. Good monsoon means on the higher side of the normal(normal rainfall is considered to be +/-19 percent). Good rainfall is also expected over areas of Chhattisgarh, East Madhya Pradesh, and North Marathwada.On August 29 last year, Mumbai had received more than 300 mm rainfall, crippling the transport services and disrupting normal life. The rain had brought the city to its knees, with water logging at various locations and a major impact on the city's transportation systems. Several parts of the city, including South Mumbai, Borivali, Kandivili, Andheri, Khar, Santacruz and Bhandup, received heavy rainfall.In Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha witnessed good rainfall in 2016 as compared to the lower side in Vidarbha and normal rains in Marathwada last year. The Konkan region witnessed excess rainfall in 2016 as compared to normal rains in 2017.According to the forecast report, while marginal rain deficiency may not affect Northeast India, but deficit rains in Peninsular India can be the cause of worry for drought-stricken farmers and policy makers. Monsoon will also bring in cheer for Indian agriculture. Above normal rains in June would ensure timely and higher sowing across the country. Although rains would witness a drop in July and August that would not be of much concern for farmers. September would again see rains reviving, which would further aid crop production.However, normal rains are expected in Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Surat).According to skymetweather.com, after witnessing below normal monsoon rains to the tune of 95% last year, India is most likely to witness normal annual Monsoon rains at 100% (with an error margin of +/-5%) of the long period average (LPA) for the four-month period from June to September.Overall, the country would see normal rains except Southern Peninsula, along with major portion of Northeast India are likely to witness below normal rains this season.Meanwhile, parts of East India, especially Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal would receive good monsoon rains. Northwest India is also likely to see normal rains this year.