By IANS,
New Delhi : After a deficit monsoon last year, the government Friday announced that the rainfall in the entire country was likely to be normal during the coming June to September monsoon period.
“The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) long range forecast for the 2010 south-west monsoon season (June to September) is that the rainfall for the country as a whole is likely to be normal,” a government statement issued by the earth sciences ministry said.
The seasonal rainfall is likely to be 98 percent of the long period average with a deviation of plus or minus five percent.
During the total monsoon season, rainfall over the country has averaged at 89 cm during 1941-1990, the statement informed.
The statement said the El Nino (high sea surface temperature) conditions over equatorial Pacific had remained weak between mid-June and October 2009 and started strengthening from late October and peaked in the third week of December.
“From late December, the El Nino conditions have started weakening. The latest forecasts…indicate high probability for the present El Nino conditions to maintain till early part of the monsoon season and then weaken to become near neutral during the subsequent months,” the statement said.
The ministry has said that with prevailing weather conditions, the monsoon would be normal.
The IMD will update its forecast in June and also issue separate forecasts for the monthly (July and August) rainfall over the country as a whole and seasonal (June-September) rainfall over the four geographical regions of India will also be issued.