Monsoon failure
Topic: Climate of India and the Monsoon · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Climates of India"; Class 7, Ch 1 "The Story of Indian Farming"
Meaning
Monsoon failure means a deficient monsoon season, or a long break in the rain just when farmers are sowing. The IMD calls a season "deficient" when June-September rain is below 90% of the Long Period Average (LPA, the long-term all-India average of about 87 cm). Monsoon failure hurts most where fields depend on rain and have no irrigation. Class 7 lists its effects: crops are lost, people (mostly women) walk long distances for water, families migrate to cities for work and food prices rise.
Example
2002, 2009 and 2015 were El Nino years (years when the eastern Pacific Ocean is unusually warm) and also drought years in India. The worst-hit areas are the dry, rain-fed lands, such as western Rajasthan, where rain is low and changes a lot from year to year.
Don't confuse with
- Break in the monsoon: a normal dry spell of a week or more within the season. It becomes a failure only when it is long and comes at sowing time.
- Below normal: 90-95% of LPA. This is weak rain but not deficient. 2023, at 94%, was below normal.
Related concepts
- Monsoon and the Indian economy
- Monsoon forecasting by IMD
- National Monsoon Mission
- Long Period Average of monsoon rainfall
- IMD monsoon rainfall categories