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IMD forecasts less than normal rainfall in July, August

"June has received a good amount of rainfall. It was also a sowing season. But then we should not be complacent and there should be a contingency plan in place as July and August may not have as good rainfall as June.

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Notwithstanding the plentiful rainfall in June, the weatherman has forecast less than normal precipitation over the next two months and advised the Agriculture Ministry to keep ready a contingency plan.

According to Laxman Singh Rathore, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall could be deficient by eight and ten % in July and August respectively.

"June has received a good amount of rainfall. It was also a sowing season. But then we should not be complacent and there should be a contingency plan in place as July and August may not have as good rainfall as June.

"There is, however, some respite as the pre-monsoon showers have helped fill up reserviors to some extent. There was good rainfall in June, which is a crucial month for sowing," Rathore said.

However, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, has predicted "above normal" rainfall (104 %) in July, "normal" rainfall (99 %) in August and (96 %) in September.

Anything less than 90 % of Long Period Average (LPA) is considered as 'deficient' rainfall, 90-96 % is 'below normal', 96-104 % 'normal', 104 to 110 above normal and anything over it is 'excess'.

The IMD has predicted 88 % of normal rainfall this year, which is "deficient". Many parts, especially north west India, may witness deficient monsoon.

However, June received 28 % more than normal rainfall.

Rathore advised the farmers to choose their crops wisely after a careful look at the weather forecast. "For instance, a region which usually gets 100-110 mm of rainfall, receives only 60-70 mm should go for maize instead of paddy," he said.

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