At a press conference, M Ravichandran, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the monsoon core zone is expected to get above-normal rainfall (more than 106 per cent of the long-period average) this season.

The monsoon core zone includes parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and nearby areas. This region gets most of its rain during the Southwest Monsoon and depends heavily on it for agriculture.

Northwest India is likely to receive normal rainfall, while the Northeast may see below-normal rain. Central and south peninsular India are expected to record above-normal rainfall, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. PTI GVS ZMN