Below normal monsoon rains likely in June: IMD

NEW DELHI: The country is likely to receive below-normal rainfall in June, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said while forecasting normal monsoon for the entire season.

IMD Environment Monitoring and Research Center (EMRC) chief D Sivananda Pai said, ''Below normal monthly (June) rainfall is expected over most parts of the country except some areas of south peninsular India, northwest India, extreme north India and some isolated pockets of northeast India, where above normal rainfall is expected.'' The southwest monsoon is expected to be normal this season despite the onset of El Nino, which is caused due to warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, he told a press conference. Pai said the seasonal rainfall over the monsoon core zone consisting of most of the rain-fed agriculture areas in the country is most likely to be normal -- 94 to 106 per cent of the long period average.