Punjab and Haryana are the most aggressive agricultural states in the country. Monsoon marks its onset over both these states mostly during end of June or early July and withdrawal begins in the first week of September.
However, 70% of rain is witnessed during the months of July and August. Meanwhile, less rains are witnessed during the months of June and September. Punjab’s normal rainfall for the entire Monsoon season is 492 mm and Haryana 466 mm.
Monsoon rains over both these states are mostly driven due to the Monsoon trough, its oscillation and Western Disturbances. Monsoon systems which form in the Bay of Bengal, mostly move across central parts of the country affecting Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But weather systems formed over the Indo-Gangetic Plains do affect Punjab and Haryana. All these situations are responsible for rains over Punjab and Haryana.
Punjab and Haryana have not seen good Monsoon season since last many years. However, due to the rich agricultural resources these states are not majorly affected by rain deficiency.
The last time good Monsoon occurred over these states was in 2008, Punjab was rain surplus by 20% and Haryana by 14%.
Meanwhile, Monsoon showed its worst performance in 2014, when Punjab was rain deficient by 50% and Haryana by 56%. Thus, we can say that this year is the fourth consecutive deficient Monsoon for Punjab and Haryana. As of August 23, Punjab is rain deficient by 13% and Haryana by 24%.
Here is a look at the Monsoon performance over Punjab and Haryana since 2005:
The northern districts of Punjab and Haryana are more prone to rain deficiency as variability of rain remains high. No predictable rain pattern is emerged. All possible combinations are observed for example - Monsoon is rain surplus over Punjab and deficient over Haryana.
Image Credits - YouTube
Any information taken from here should be attributed to Skymet Weather.
