‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1919-20’ [‎275r] (97/192)

^namauMMiHia
1919-1920. WEATHEE AND CHOPS.
Arabian Sea during the last week of the month and resulted in a storm
which was moving m a northwesterly direction at the end of the month
la the Bombay Deccan rain fell mostly between the 12th and the 16th and
during the last few days of the month, when rain was also received in the south
Konkan. The total rainfall of the month was above normal by 72 per cent in
the Bombay Deccan and was normal in Sind; it wa s in defect elsewhere~by
39 per cent, in the Konkan, 50 per cent, in Gujarat and 73 per cent, in Kathiawar
The total rainfall of the season, April and May, was in excess by 14 per cent’
in the Bombay Deccan and 81 per cent, in Sind and was in defect over the rest
of the division by 51 per cent, in the Konkan, 43 per cent, in Gujarat and
40 per cent, in Kathiawar. The storm which formed towards the close of May
in the Arabian Sea in front of the advancing monsoon current was encountered
by the S.S. Sicilia on June 2nd about 300 miles southeast of the Kuria Muria
Islands and appears to have broken up on the Arabian coast on the 3rd. From
the available marine information it appears to have been of great severity and
to have done some damage to shipping. Light rain was reported from many
stations in the Peninsula during the first three days of June, but with the
disappearance of the storm rainfall increased on the west coast to the south
of latitude 16° N. and gradually extended northwards into the Konkan and the
Bombay Deccan. Heavy rainfall characteristic of the burst of the monsoon
occurred at Ratnagiri on the 6th and at Bombay on the 7th. During the
next week the monsoon was, apart from the west coast, chiefly directed
towards the Central Provinces and the Deccan under the influence of a
depression which formed over Bihar and Orissa during the 9th and disappeared
over the north of the Central Provinces on the 14th. Some heavy falls occurred
locally during its progress, Raipur receiving 11-59" between 8 a.m. of the
10th and 8 a.m. of the 12th. The monsoon began to weaken after the
disappearance of the storm and there was a complete break in its activity except
on the west coast from the 19th to the 24th. A revival set in on the 25th
and rainfall again extended into the interior of the Peninsula, the central parts
of the country and Gujarat. The total rainfall of the month was nearly normal
in the Konkan and in excess by 17 per cent, in the Bombay Deccan ; there was
a deficiency over the rest of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. , which amounted to 23 per cent, in
Gujarat, 65 per cent, in Kathiawar, and 82 per cent, in Sind. In the last
mentioned area the only rain received during the month was a locally heavy
fall at Shlhbunder on the 4th. The amount of cloud was in distinct
excess in Gujarat and the Bombay Deccan. In the central districts of
the latter area maximum temperature was slightly below normal, but was
distinctly above normal in upper Sind where in common with the Punjab and
the Northwest Frontier Province temperature was persistently high and
Jacobabad, usually the hottest station in India, registered on the 12th a maximum
of 127° F. which is higher than the highest previously on record. During the
first three days of July the monsoon was very vigorous and gave widespread
ram in the north of the Peninsula, the central parts of the country and Gujarat
under the influence of a storm from the Bay which crossed the coast near Puri
on the 1st and disappeared over Central India on the 3rd. Its activity declined
thereafter and till the 9th rainfall was chiefly confined to the west coast,
Gujarat, the United Provinces and parts of the Central Provinces. The
monsoon strengthened on the 9th and rainfall extended in the central parts of
the country and into Rajputana and the Punjab within the next three days,
and well marked monsoon conditions prevailed over northwest India till nearly
the close of the month. But in Kathiawar, the Bombay Deccan and Hyderabad
the monsoon was appreciably less active than usual from the 10th to the 20th
when a favourable change set in for these regions and from the 24th onward there
was widespread rain in the north of the Peninsula. The last three days of the
month were marked by the extension of the monsoon into lower Sind
where nearly general and in places very heavy rain was recorded. The total
munfallof the month was in excess by 103 per cent, in Sind and by 5 per cent, in
he Konkan; but over the rest of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. rainfall was below the average,
he deficiency amounting to 16 per cent, in the Bombay Deccan, 12 per cent.
111 Gujarat and 26 per cent, in Kathiawar. Rainfall during the month of August
^ as chiefly concentrated in the north of the Central Provinces, Central India,
H 923—19
Chapter IV.
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.