If distributed fairly across the country, the forecast should be a cause of cheer
India is likely to receive above normal rainfall during the upcoming June-September southwest monsoon season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted in its first long-range seasonal forecast issued on April 15, 2024.
This is the first time, after a gap of eight years, that the IMD has forecast “above normal” rains in the country. This above normal seasonal rainfall was “very likely” over most parts of the country, the IMD said, except in some areas over northwest, east and northeast India, where below normal rainfall was “very likely”.
If distributed fairly across the country, the forecast should be a cause of cheer, especially for agriculture and a time when 35.7 per cent area in the country was under ‘abnormal’ to ‘exceptional’ degrees of drought, with different parts facing water shortages.
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