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Early Monsoon in India to Give Relief From Heat and Spur Sowing

  • Monsoon rains are expected to be normal for a fourth year
  • Rainy season crucial for farming, food prices, economic growth
Floods during a monsoon rainfall in Mumbai in 2020. 

Floods during a monsoon rainfall in Mumbai in 2020. 

Photographer: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty Images

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India’s monsoon will arrive early this year, providing much-needed relief after a record-breaking heat wave damaged crops and threatened the health of millions of people across the region.

The mercury surged as high as about 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts this month, after the average temperature soared in March to the highest ever for the month in records going back to 1901. The extreme weather scorched wheat fields in the world’s second-biggest grower, damping expectations for exports to alleviate a global shortage.