India: Rainfall recorded in June was the lowest for the month in over a decade.

Monsoon rains in India were 39.8% below the long-term average in June, making it the driest month in over a decade and the fifth driest since records began in 1901. According to data released Tuesday (30) by the local Meteorological Department, the country recorded 99.5 mm of rain in June, compared to a normal average of 165.3 mm. The rainfall deficit, caused by the delayed advance of the annual monsoon, has delayed the planting of summer crops such as rice, corn, cotton and soybeans, and has kept parts of the northern plains exceptionally hot, with maximum temperatures above 42ºC. The monsoon is responsible for about 70% of the annual rainfall needed to replenish reservoirs essential to the Indian economy, given that almost half of the agricultural land lacks irrigation.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.