NEW DELHI: Monsoon rains in the coming weeks are likely to make up for a shortfall in the first two months of the season that began in June, the head of India’s state-run weather office said on Wednesday, boosting prospects for the agricultural sector.
“We are going to see some rapid recovery in the monsoon and the rainfall shortage is expected to come down sharply in the next couple of days,” K.J. Ramesh, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told Reuters in an interview.
Crop-nourishing monsoon rains were 9% below average between June 1 and July 31, with heavy showers in the past few days reducing the shortfall from 16% on Friday.
Meteorological forecasts suggest the deficit should be wiped out by the end of August, Ramesh said.
