This may rescue pulses, cotton and oilseed sowing; rain revival in the south to take longer
Till June 30, the southwest monsoon was 33 per cent lower than normal, which is among the worst in the last five years, with 28 of the 36 meteorological divisions recording deficient rain.
Sowing had started on a sluggish note in several parts of the country because of delay in the onset of the monsoon but has picked up pace subsequently as the rains progressed and performed appreciably well in August.
The national capital battled weather conditions in the "red category" as the maximum temperature recorded at the Palam observatory was 46.1C,
Rain deficiency in eastern and western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya is 20-46 per cent less than normal as of June 17.
Skymet is the first major Indian weather forecasting agency to have issued a monsoon forecast for 2016.
Simultaneous activation of both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems has led to the state receiving an excess 65 per cent rainfall.
In the first of a two-part series, Business Standard examines the impact of the upcoming summer on agriculture and drinking water supply.
Till Thursday, the country had received 41 per cent less June rainfall than normal - the scantiest in a decade and one of the rarest occasions when the shortfall in the month was more than 30 per cent - private weather forecaster Skymet said in its daily weather forecast on Friday.
The IMD on its part is sticking to its forecast of July rainfall.
The IMD has said temperatures in most parts of the country from March to May would be 'above normal'.
Though the summer is expected to be hotter, global and domestic forecasts point to good rains.
Drought fears will subside if the momentum generated is maintained in August.
Monsoon is expected to cover central and eastern India after Tuesday.
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