Get ready for the best monsoon since 1994
"At the moment, all the meteorological parameters deciding the fate of monsoon are just too good to be true," said Skymet's chief executive officer Jatin Singh on Wednesday.
"This year Indian Monsoon could see the first event of excess rainfall since 1994," said India's private weather forecaster Skymetweather.com
The 1994 monsoon was pegged at 112% of the Long Period Average (LPA) and the forecaster has predicted that the current year's monsoon could be 109% of the LPA. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its April forecast had said rains this year are expected to be 'above normal' at 106% of the LPA.
This means that if the agency's forecast is accurate the country will witness the highest southwest monsoon since 1994 and will record 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September.
It had, in April, predicted the monsoon to be 105% of the LPA and has upgraded it earlier this month.
"At the moment, all the meteorological parameters deciding the fate of monsoon are just too good to be true," said Skymet's chief executive officer Jatin Singh on Wednesday.
The country's agriculture sector is heavily dependent on monsoon. Adequate rainfall results in an increase in the agriculture output which in turn leads to rising sales of consumer goods and a general economic revival.
Above normal rainfall this year will result in fall in food inflation, an increase in rural consumption and rise in gross domestic product (GDP), experts say.
According to Skymet, after the two years of consecutive droughts in 2014 and 2015, the country's agricultural production this year will be much better as compared to previous year.
It has forecast the Kharif foodgrains production to be around 129 to 130 million tonnes in 2016.
The country's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in April rose to 0.34% due to higher food inflation. The food inflation in April surged to 5.4% from 4% in March on the back of a rise in primary and manufactured food inflation.
12:33 PM IST