Monsoon in no mood to stop in August

New Delhi: India’s southwest monsoon is showing no signs of weakening and is instead expected to gain further momentum during the first half of August, raising hopes of a strong recovery after weeks of uneven rainfall across the country.

The India Meteorological Department’s latest rainfall data shows the all-India monsoon rainfall deficit has narrowed to 14%, a significant improvement from much steeper shortfalls recorded earlier this season.

Meteorologists say the revival is being driven by the strongest weather system of the monsoon so far, a deep depression moving across Maharashtra.

Embedded within the monsoon trough, the deep depression has drawn enormous amounts of moisture from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Its impact has been further amplified by the Somali Jet, the powerful low-level wind stream that transports moisture across the Arabian Sea into the Indian subcontinent.