NEW DELHI: India's monsoon is expected to bring below-average rainfall this year, with precipitation between June and September between 90 and 96 percent of the long-term average, Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday.
The four-month-long monsoon season started on a weak note as the annual rains arrived over India's southern coast about five days behind the average date of June 1.
"The southwest monsoon this year may be less than normal," said Singh, adding that rainfall in July was seen at 93 percent of the long-term average, rising to 96 percent August.
The impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon - which can cause drought in South Asia - is likely to be weak in India, added a weather office official.
"No impact of El Nino is right now seen on the Indian monsoon as it is still in a neutral condition," said D.S. Pai, lead forecaster at the India Meteorology Department (IMD).
India's rice and cotton growing areas are expected to receive deficient monsoon rains, while its soybean growing central region should receive below-average rainfall.
The IMD defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96 percent and 104 percent of a 50-year average of 89 cm for the entire season.
In April, before the start of the monsoon season, the IMD had forecast below-average rainfall in 2014 due to an emerging El Nino in which warm water rises to the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
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