Heavy Rain Cuts Andhra Pradesh's Monsoon Deficit from 43% to 22%

Andhra Pradesh's Southwest Monsoon rainfall deficit has narrowed sharply, falling from 43% on September 15 to 22% on September 25, after a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal brought heavy rain to the coast on September 23 and 24.

Until mid-September, the state was the third most rain-deficient in the country, behind Meghalaya at 59% and Manipur at 44%. It had recorded only 251.1 mm against a normal of 437.6 mm in a season shaped by El Niño. Experts noted it was the second time since 1904 that the state had logged such a steep gap; 1904 was a drought year with a deficit of 44.19%.

Some experts had expected the shortfall to stay near 40%, and it was thought difficult for it to fall below 35%. But the deep depression crossed the coast near Kalingapatnam, and the state's position changed within days. Among southern states, Andhra Pradesh was the worst affected until September 15; it now trails Puducherry, Karnataka and Keralam.

The rain in a few coastal districts on September 23 and 24 was heavy enough to offset the deficit accumulated over the first three months of the monsoon.

The improvement is visible across the north coastal districts. Visakhapatnam, which had a 53.2% deficit until September 21 — the highest among its neighbours — received 291.9 mm between September 22 and 26 against a normal of 29.3 mm for those days. Its deficit now stands at 3.6%.

From September 21 to 26, Vizianagaram's deficit fell from 37.2% to 10.2%, Srikakulam's from 38.7% to 7%, Kakinada's from 44.8% to 13.7%, Alluri Sitharama Raju district's from 42.3% to 14.1%, Parvathipuram Manyam's from 37.5% to 19.2% and Anakapalli's from 41.2% to 17%, according to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and the A.P. State Disaster Management Authority.

Guntur, NTR, Krishna, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, and East and West Godavari districts also recorded a fall in their deficits.

However, all eight districts of Rayalaseema continue to record steep deficits, with the highest, 62.5%, in Annamayya district. S. Karunasagar, Senior Scientist at IMD-Amaravati, said that while the reduction was welcome, the state still faced the possibility of drought conditions, as the deficit was likely to widen again in the coming months and Rayalaseema had not benefited much from the recent spell.