Patna, Oct.1: Deficient by 20 per cent, the monsoon would officially bid adieu to the state by the end of this week.

Ashish Sen, the director (radar) of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Patna, told The Telegraph today: “A low pressure area over Andhra Pradesh is expected to turn into a depression. It can lead to moderate rainfall in Bihar on October 5 and 6. Thereafter, the southwest monsoon would officially retreat.”

Sen said: “The state has received 20 per cent deficient rainfall this monsoon. According to the IMD standards, it is termed as marginally below normal. The IMD terms 19 per cent departure from the normal as normal for a subdivision. The deficiency has been caused mainly because of untimely and uneven distribution of rainfall across the state. Formation of only two depressions or low pressure area over the state against a normal of 12 also contributed to the shortfall.”

The rain-bearing winds had entered in the state on June 19. The monsoon was weak on its arrival as the statewide rainfall in June stood at 89mm against the normal of 170mm. It picked up pace in July, causing 303mm rainfall across the state against the normal of 338mm, leaving only 10 per cent deficiency.

The monsoon again slowed down in August with total rainfall at 201mm against the normal of 293mm, leaving a deficiency 31 per cent. September was also a disappointment till rain lashed almost the entire state between September 13 and 18.

“The spell in mid-September increased the rainfall figures for the entire state. If this spell would have continued longer, the state might have recorded surplus rainfall this year. But a dry spell was observed in the last 10 days of September, which resisted the surge in rainfall figures,” said Sen.

Most parts of the state received deficient rainfall this monsoon. The precipitation was below normal in 32 districts. According to the IMD norms, 19 districts received deficient rainfall, 18 districts received average rainfall (within 19 per cent departure) and none of the districts received surplus rainfall this monsoon.

The highest rainfall deficiency was recorded at Jehanabad with 50 per cent departure from the normal. Banka bagged the second position with 46 per cent shortfall. Only Aurangabad and Nalanda experienced two per cent above normal rainfall.

Agriculture experts from the state have claimed that deficient rainfall had resulted in shortage in transplantation of paddy saplings over two lakh hectares across the state.

“The deficient rainfall this monsoon reduced the coverage area of paddy transplantation by two lakh hectares,” said Anil Jha, the officer-on-special duty in the agriculture department.