Unlike last year, 2020 has made a great start, courtesy post-Monsoon season in 2019 that ended with whopping rain surplus of 29%. With this, country seems to be placed comfortably in terms of Rabi crop output. As per agriculture experts, ample soil moisture coupled with likely good winter rains would accelerate Rabi crop production, this season.
Last year, 2018 had ended with huge rainfall deficiency to the tune of 44%. This had resulted in acute water deficiency in several parts of the country. This had a huge impact on the Rabi crop production that season.
However, we have a different scenario this year. After large excess rains during the Monsoon, post-Monsoon season too saw good rainfall. Surprisingly, major contribution came from Central India that usually remains weather free post the withdrawal of Southwest Monsoon.
Post-Monsoon season is a mix of retreat of Southwest Monsoon and onset of Northeast Monsoon. While we see maximum rainfall input in October from South India in form of Northeast India, hills start contributing from November onward and by December, northwestern plains too start sharing the burden.
This time, all the three regions have performed well. In fact, as reiterated above, Central India too has helped in increasing the rain surplus. All the three regions of Northwest, Central and South Peninsula ended with normal or above normal rainfall. According to statistics, this is not very common during the post-Monsoon season.
In the last eight years, it has been only twice when country had witnessed surplus rains in the season, with 2019 topping taking the lead.
Hills had started contributing right from the beginning of November and continues throughout December. Not only the frequency of Western Disturbance have been more, but number of active systems made the difference. November saw passage of three active Western Disturbance and so did December.
These active Western Disturbances kept on inducing weather systems over the plains that traveled through central parts of the country, leading to unseasonal rains right from Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh.
Image Credit: NDTV
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