An Early and Likely Normal Monsoon Boosts India’s Crop Outlook
- June-September rains seen 103% of long-term average this year
- Monsoon arrives earlier than usual in southern Kerala state
Vehicles make their way against the backdrop of rain clouds on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Photographer: Manjunath Kiranjunath/AFP/Getty Images
The forecast of a normal monsoon, which arrived earlier than usual this year, is poised to encourage farmers to expand plantings of major crops, a welcome development as the government grapples with rising food prices.
The India Meteorological Department kept to its earlier prediction of a normal monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland. Cumulative rains are likely to be 103% of the long-term average during the four-month season this year, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the weather bureau, said in an online briefing on Tuesday. That compares with its April prediction of 99%. The forecast has a margin of error of 4%.