Hyderabad: Of the 584 mandals in the state, as many as 305 mandals have not received a drop of rain in July.
According to the manual of drought management, a dry spell is a short period, usually four weeks in case of light and up to three weeks of low rainfall.
Thus, if for three or four consecutive weeks after the due date for the onset of the monsoon, the rainfall is less than 50 per cent of the normal in each of the weeks, it is defined as a dry spell.
This indicator is important in that it qualifies the extent of intra season rainfall variations which is so critical for the health of crops and maintenance of soil and hydrological regime.
In Adilabad district, all the 18 mandals had deficient rainfall in July 2017. In Nirmal district, 18 mandals out of 19, in Nizamabad district 26 mandals out of 27, in Jagityal district 17 mandals out of 18, and in Peddapalli district all 14 mandals, have had deficient rainfall in the month of July 2017.
The officials said that during the period June 29 to August 7, 2017, rainfall was confined mostly to the eastern parts, extending to central and southern parts of the state.
The most deficient rainfall - more than 50 per cent less than the normal (in 229 mandals) - was over most of the north and western parts of the state. About 126 mandals experienced dry weather conditions continuously for more than 15 days. These mandals received less than 2.5mm rainfall in this period.
