Rain brings relief to deficit-hit Andhra Pradesh

Rain swept across large parts of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, offering relief to a State reeling under a substantial seasonal deficit, with automatic rain gauge stations of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics recording cumulative rainfall of more than 50 mm at several locations between 8.30 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Musunuru in Eluru district recorded the highest rainfall in the State at 52.69 mm, followed by Pallamalli in Prakasam district’s Chimakurthy mandal with 46 mm. Ipuru and Machavaram in Palnadu district recorded 42.64 mm and 42.49 mm, respectively. Darlapudi in Anakapalli district’s S. Rayavaram mandal received 42 mm, while Rajamahendravaram Urban in East Godavari recorded 38.25 mm.

Anakapalli district accounted for a large share of the readings above 20 mm, with several gauges in Paravada, Nakkapalli and Anakapalli mandals recording between 20 mm and 34 mm. Palnadu, Kakinada, East Godavari and Guntur districts also featured prominently among the Directorate’s top 50 stations, drawn from its network of 2,218 automatic rain gauges.

Among the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatories, Amaravati recorded 27 mm, one of the highest figures in the State. Machilipatnam and Bapatla received 11 mm and 16 mm, respectively.

The spell occurred against the backdrop of a trough extending from south Telangana across Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu to the Gulf of Mannar, persisting at 0.9 km above mean sea level, the Meteorological Centre, Amaravati, said. An upper-air cyclonic circulation over north coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and the west-central Bay of Bengal had weakened.

The Cyclone Warning Centre, Visakhapatnam, had forecast moderate to severe thunderstorms accompanied by gusty and squally winds during the afternoon. It briefly issued a red alert for Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR and Krishna districts.

Maximum temperatures varied widely across the State on Sunday. Nellore recorded 39.2°C, which was 3.8°C above normal, followed by Tirupati (AP) at 39.4°C and Kavali at 39°C. Jangamaheswarapuram and Arogyavaram recorded the lowest maximum temperature at 34.5°C each, followed by Kalingapatnam at 34.9°C. Amaravati recorded 37.3°C and Visakhapatnam 35°C.

The rain came against the backdrop of a pronounced monsoon deficit. The State’s cumulative rainfall since June 1 remained 47% below normal, with every district classified as either ‘deficient’ or ‘large deficient’. Guntur and Krishna, despite recording steep single-day surpluses of 388% and 188%, respectively, remained in seasonal deficit at 30% and 37%.

In Vijayawada, the Municipal Corporation said its monsoon response team cleared waterlogging at Labbipeta, the bridge area and Bandar Road soon after the rain began, following directions from Commissioner Dhyanachandra.

The IMD’s seven-day outlook indicates isolated to scattered rainfall over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema through September 12.