NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Monday on its normal date of onset, the IMD said as it forecast “above normal” rainfall in north India, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, and “normal” seasonal rainfall with certain geographical variations during the June-September period.
The forecast shows that West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and northeastern states may get less rainfall than the other regions, but they won’t face deficient rainfall conditions during the season.
Arrival of monsoon in Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month (June-September) rainy season in India which heavily depends on it for more than half of the country’s foodgrain production.
“Monsoon rainfall for the country as a whole is likely to be 102% of the long period average (LPA) which is 2% more