Worries over El Nino conditions have eased and there are indications of another year of robust monsoon rains, according to the latest assessment by the country’s weather office.
Officials in the India Meteorological Department said El Nino conditions have weakened considerably and and the assessment is that this is unlikely to pose any threat to the southwest monsoon which waters over half of India’s farmland.
“The El Nino conditions appear to have weakened considerably. It is unlikely to last long and we don’t think it will have any major impact,” said an IMD official on condition of anonymity. He said the weather patterns over the Pacific Ocean though have to be under watch for some time.
A scare for the country’s crucial monsoon appeared on the horizon late last month after US weather agencies forecast a 60% chance of El Nino continuing through the summer.