Situation not alarming, monsoon to improve: IMD director general

Interview with K J Ramesh

After being fairly normal in the first two months of this season, there was a break in the Southwest Monsoon from early August, triggering fears of aggravating farm distress in some parts of the country. K J Ramesh, director general of India Meteorological Department (IMD) tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee the monsoon is set to revive in the coming 10-12 days in Vidharbha, Marathwada, Karnataka and Telangana. Edited excerpts:

The Southwest Monsoon has been unusually weak in August, with some even predicting the shortfall to be as big as 25% below the normal. Is the situation alarming?

If you see the all-India picture,