Delayed rains could spell drought in India, experts warn

[senorpepr]

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Delayed and weak monsoon rains across vast swathes of northern India and pockets of the south may lead to a drought-like situation, weather forecasters have warned.

The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting has told the government that the rainfall is unlikely to be good when the monsoon finally hits north India on July 15, the Indian Express daily said Tuesday.

The seasonal rains were due to reach north India by July 1.

Important states such Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, where the annual sowing season is underway, are likely to suffer the most due to the delay, the officials said.

Even in areas where it has rained, such as south India's Telengana, Vidharbha and Rayalseema regions, the rainfall has been far below average, the paper said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meanwhile has asked officials to prepare a plan for the "worst-case" scenario.

"We don't want to be caught napping like 2002," Radha Singh, secretary in the ministry of agriculture, told the newspaper, referring to a devastating drought which ravaged north India two years ago.

"We have sent teams to all these states. Contingency plans would be drawn up for all these areas," she added.

Some two-thirds of Indian's billion-plus people work in agriculture, making them heavily dependent on the annual rains.

India's economic fortunes swing with the monsoon and last season's bountiful showers brought a bumper crop that drove economic growth above eight percent.

Elsewhere, however, particularly in east and northeast India, heavy rains have caused havoc, killing at least 100 people and leaving more than 3.7 million people stranded.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... on_drought