New Delhi:The office of the Meteorological Department on Friday said the summer monsoon would be normal this year, allaying fears over an event crucial to the economic fate of the country. Rainfall is likely to be 98 percent of the long-term average, said the weather
office, whose forecast is closely watched by commodities and financial markets
as well as the government, which is battling to rein in inflation against a backdrop
of intense protests over rising food prices. "This year the monsoon would be normal,
- 96 to 104 percent is the range of normal monsoon and the number which we are
giving is 98 percent. The model error is 5 percent which is given based on the
global climate parameters which we observed in the month of March," said Meteorological
Office spokesperson B.P. Yadav. Yadav said the El Nino phenomenon, which disrupts
normal weather patterns, was weakening. Last year, the government's forecast of
a normal monsoon proved wrong and the country grappled instead with a baking drought
caused by its driest monsoon in 37 years.
