The India Meteorological Department has stuck to its forecast of "deficient" monsoon.
"The season (June to September) rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 88 per cent of the long period average with a model error of plus or minus four per cent as was forecast in June," IMD said. Although the country has received weak rainfall, sowing overall has been good. The first half of season gave a mixed amount of rainfall. June recorded 116 per cent of rainfall of LPA (excess) while July recorded 83 per cent, which was deficient.
Anything less than 90 per cent of LPA is termed "deficient" rainfall while 90-96 per cent of LPA is considered "below normal".
Again, rainfall at 96-104 per cent of LPA is "normal" with 104 to 110 per cent taken to be above normal. Anything over that is "excess". Last week, Skymet, country's private weather forecasting agency, revised its earlier prediction and lowered its monsoon forecast from 102 per cent to 98 per cent even as it maintained that the country will receive "normal" rainfall during the year.
