Monsoon likely to be 'near normal' this year: IMD

Monsoon is likely to be "near normal" this year, the India Meteorological Department said Monday.

Monsoon is likely to be 96 per cent of the long period average (LPA), a senior official of the IMD said.

LPA is the average of rainfall between 1951 and 2000, which is 89 cm. Anything between 90-95 per cent of LPA falls under the "below normal" category.