Cyclone Arnab has raised fears for India's kharif harvest as heavy rain and strong winds hit eastern India and the threat of rain extends north, Rural Voice reports. Coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh had extremely heavy rain, which has spread to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, putting standing crops, paddy lying harvested in the open and harvesting itself at risk.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the cyclone completed landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast by the morning of 28 October and was expected to weaken gradually, but heavy rain, waterlogging and flooding remained a risk. It flagged a moderate to high risk of flash floods in 13 Andhra Pradesh districts and parts of Yanam.
Moisture from the cyclone is expected to meet an approaching western disturbance and bring rain to Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The IMD warned of thunderstorms, strong winds and hail in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab on 29 and 30 October, and of heavy rain in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Paddy procurement is under way in Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh and the sugarcane harvest is starting, so rain could disrupt harvesting, transport and procurement, and wet paddy may need extra drying before procurement centres accept it.
In Uttar Pradesh, rain earlier in October had already delayed the start of sugarcane crushing, and more rain could delay cane deliveries to mills further.
Paddy nearing harvest in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal is the most exposed. Heavy rain and wind can flatten the crop, a problem known as lodging, which makes harvesting harder and raises grain losses, and harvested paddy left in the open can lose quality if it gets wet. Cotton, soybean, maize and pulses could also be damaged.
Photo: Trocaire / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Rural Voice
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