NEW DELHI: The monsoon , which hit Kerala on Saturday after a week’s delay, has advanced into more areas in the state, southern Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep among other regions, including the southern Arabian Sea . After a delayed start, the monsoon is likely to remain weak during June-July. It will, however, pick up pace during August-September,” said a senior Met department official.A late monsoon with 45% deficient rainfall threatens agricultural activity in India, which has more than 70% of farm area fed by rains. Pre-monsoon showers in the March-May period have been 25% deficient, delaying cultivation on arable land.The live storage of water in 91 reservoirs as of June 6 was 114% of the same period last year, which is not very encouraging. Farmers have started preparing their fields for cultivation,” said a senior agriculture department official.

Source: Economic Times June 10, 2019 01:18 UTC