Telangana monsoon deficit: How intensifying El Niño is sparking a kharif sowing crisis for farmers
While 29 lakh acres were cropped by the end of June last year, this year the figure is hovering around 15 lakh acres
The Southwest Monsoon's expansion across Telangana has been significantly hampered by El Niño, leading to a severe rainfall deficit and a prolonged dry spell that is delaying the kharif season and impacting agricultural activities, with only three out of 33 districts receiving sufficient rain, and some experiencing deficits exceeding 75 percent, a situation exacerbated by critically low water storage levels in most major barrages and projects, prompting an official advisory for farmers to switch to drought-resilient crops.
The Southwest Monsoon's expansion across Telangana has been significantly hampered by El Niño, leading to a severe rainfall deficit and a prolonged dry spell that is delaying the kharif season and impacting agricultural activities, with only three out of 33 districts receiving sufficient rain, and some experiencing deficits exceeding 75 percent, a situation exacerbated by critically low water storage levels in most major barrages and projects, prompting an official advisory for farmers to switch to drought-resilient crops.
The Southwest Monsoon's expansion across Telangana has been significantly hampered by El Niño, leading to a severe rainfall deficit and a prolonged dry spell that is delaying the kharif season and impacting agricultural activities, with only three out of 33 districts receiving sufficient rain, and some experiencing deficits exceeding 75 percent, a situation exacerbated by critically low water storage levels in most major barrages and projects, prompting an official advisory for farmers to switch to drought-resilient crops.
The effects of El Niño have slowed down the expansion of the Southwest Monsoon in Telangana, resulting in scant rainfall across the state. The lack of rain has affected the kharif season, delaying cropping due to the prolonged dry spell. Even though the monsoon made a timely landfall through the southern Jogulamba Gadwal district on June 8, its northward advance across the region was severely choked by persistent dry air intrusions. It took an unprecedented 15 days to cover all 33 districts—a process that normally takes under 4 days, according to the Hyderabad Meteorological Centre.
Data compiled by the Telangana Development Planning Society reveals that despite recent isolated heavy downpours, only three out of the 33 districts received sufficient rainfall. The uneven and slow expansion of rains has put farmers across the state in a dilemma. While 29 lakh acres were cropped by the end of June last year, this year the figure is hovering around 15 lakh acres. The weak monsoon expansion has worried farmers, as rainfall was insufficient by the end of the third week of June. As a result, many farmers are unable to decide whether to take up cultivation.
While only Ranga Reddy, Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda districts received excess rainfall, 13 districts recorded normal rainfall, and 15 districts reported deficit rainfall. The situation is acutely localised, with districts like Siddipet and Hanamkonda enduring severe rainfall deficits of 66 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively. Meteorologists note that this sluggish start is worse than previous drought years and has been directly amplified by strengthening El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean.
Water storage levels in several barrages have also declined sharply. While the Singur barrage had 19.26 TMC of water during the same period last year, it now has only 4.50 TMC. The Mid Manair, Lower Manair, Yellampally, Jurala and Srisailam projects also have very low storage levels. The Nettempadu, Bheema and Koilsagar projects are unable to get sufficient water for lifting. Only the Nagarjunasagar project has adequate water storage. The government has not yet made any statement on the release of water from several projects amid the shortage.
This climatic disruption has thrown farming into a state of high uncertainty. With the threat of worsening weather patterns during the peak monsoon months, the India Meteorological Department, Hyderabad, has issued a strong advisory urging farmers to immediately shift away from water-intensive crops and transition to short-duration, drought-resilient crops such as soybeans, pulses, and millets.