India’s southwest monsoon ended with rainfall 12.6% below average, with the country receiving 759.4 mm against the normal 868.6 mm, making it the fourth-lowest monsoon rainfall since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.
The weather office also forecast below-normal rainfall in October, with the country likely to receive only 85% of its long-period average (LPA) rainfall for the month. Most parts of India are expected to receive below-normal rainfall during the October-December period, suggesting that the rainfall deficit could persist beyond the southwest monsoon season.