Monsoon to be near-normal this year: IMD

The Indian Meteorological Department announced the first long-range forecast of the South West monsoon and predicted that it will be "near-normal" in 2019. The Director General of IMD, KJ Ramesh said that India was likely to receive 96 per cent of its average monsoon rainfall.

New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), on Monday, announced the first long-range forecast of the south-west monsoon and predicted that it will be "near-normal", this year in the country.

Secretary of Ministry of Earth Sciences, M Rajeevan Nair said, "India is going to have a near-normal monsoon in 2019. It has been forecast on the basis of the negligible impact of the EI Nino phenomenon."

While speaking to ETV Bharat, the Director General of IMD, K. J. Ramesh said, "India is likely to receive 96 per cent of its average monsoon rainfall. The distribution of rainfall is going to be pretty good which will help the agricultural operations in the kharif season. So, this will be the third year in the row for good kharif season crops in the country."

According to the latest global forecasts, weak El Nino conditions have developed over the equatorial Pacific Ocean and they are likely to persist this summer. However, IMD officials have maintained that these conditions would weaken after summer.