Monsoon to be normal this year, declares IMD

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 15

The southwest monsoon will be normal and on time at the southern gateway of Kerala on June 1.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its first four-month (June-September) forecast, today said the long period average (LPA) would be 100% that falls in the normal category.

Overall, the June to September rains over the country is likely to be normal (96-104%), IMD Director General M Mohapatra said in the first stage long range forecast (LRF) for monsoon which brings cheer to a vast majority of India’s rain-fed farm lands. Almost two-thirds of India’s agricultural land are dependent on the seasonal rains.

The LPA over the country for the period 1961-2010 is 88 cm. The IMD also issued new normal dates of onset/progress and withdrawal. It is expected to arrive over Thiruvananthapuram on June 1.

In states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Telegana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh, rains will be delayed by 3-7 days compared to existing normal dates. However, over extreme Northwest India, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi etc., it arrives now little earlier on July 8 compared to the existing date of July 15.

The withdrawal is expected on October 15, said M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.