A farmer from rural Nanded stares at his dying soybean crop
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : After weeks of dry weather and soaring temperatures, Marathwada may finally see the return of rain, with India Meteorological Department (IMD) and independent weather experts forecasting light to moderate showers and thunderstorms over the next 24 to 48 hours.
The district, along with parts of the region, has been placed under a yellow alert for 48 hours from Sept 12. The reservoir recorded evaporation losses of around 1.4 MCM during the 24-hour period ending Thursday morning, highlighting the impact of the ongoing dry spell, according to Jayakwadi dam in-charge Mangesh Shelar. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and several other parts of Marathwada are likely to receive one or two spells of rain or thundershowers on Friday, with the possibility of moderate rainfall continuing over the subsequent two days, according to IMD.
Marathwada has recorded only 8mm of rainfall so far this month, resulting in an 85% rainfall deficiency. At Jayakwadi dam near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, daily evaporation during the monsoon season and cloudy conditions typically ranges between 0.4 million cubic metres (MCM) and 0.77 MCM. However, the figure has now crossed 1 MCM per day.
The long-awaited rainfall is expected to provide much-needed relief to farmers and revive rain-fed kharif crops that have come under severe stress due to an extended dry spell.
Shrinivas Aundhkar, director of the MGM APJ Abdul Kalam Astrospace Science Centre and Club, said conditions were favourable for a monsoon revival. “Such systems are likely to bring rainfall back to Marathwada,” Aundhkar said. The region witnessed an almost rainless Aug, followed by a highly deficient Sept, aggravating concerns over agriculture and water availability. He attributed the expected change in weather to a developing low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal and the associated cyclonic circulation. The return of rain comes at a critical time. The prolonged dry spell has raised concerns over crop losses in the predominantly rain-fed agricultural region. The hot and dry weather has also accelerated evaporation losses from reservoirs.