India to get 'normal' monsoon: IMD

Monsoon rainfall this year will be normal across the country, the weather office said on Thursday, bringing about positive news for India’s agriculture sector which performed quite well for the last two years keeping the economy going despite the raging effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Quantitatively, the monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall is likely to be 99% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of plus or minus 5%,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department.

The LPA – the average for the 1971-2020 period — is 87 centimetres, he added.


In India, more than 60% of farmland is rain-fed and two-thirds of the people are dependent on agriculture for livelihood. The southwest monsoon rainfall over India contributes 74.9% to the annual rainfall and gives a boost to demand for consumer goods, gold, cars, motorcycles, tractors, farm equipment and inputs such as pesticides, fertilisers, and seeds.

Hence the forecast of normal rainfall during the monsoon period of June to September will cheer policymakers, farmers, and manufacturers as a good monsoon.