Unseasonal rain effect: Wheat production to be reduced by 10% in India

Unseasonal rain in North-West India has started about two weeks back and its still continued. However, February gave experience of scorching heat. But, it is predicted that the temperature will rise sharply in this year. However, the unseasonal rain in March has increased the snowfall. It may be noted that wheat is main Ravi (winter) crop of the country and harvesting has already begun in some parts of the country.

The government has estimated a record production of wheat at 112.2 million tonnes for the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). Narendra Singh Tomer, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has said that preliminary reports show that standing crops have been affected on a large scale due to current unseasonal rains and hailstorm. Hence, there may be a reduction in wheat production by 10 percent. It is also possible that wheat production may be reduced by 1 to 1.50 crore tonnes or the wheat may get spoiled.

Generally it happens every year on a small scale, but the Meteorological Department said that some states in the north-west of the country such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi received heavy rains till now. Apart from Chandigarh and Uttarakhand, there has been rain in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Rajasthan has seen excessive damage due to unseasonal rain.