Monsoon relief

Policy must focus on long-term management issues

After the monsoon in India culminated with a rain deficit of 5.6 per cent in 2023, the level of precipitation this year became extremely important. Fortunately, the India Meteorological Department’s monsoon forecast this week came as a harbinger of good news, with the prediction of an above-normal southwest monsoon rainfall in 2024, estimated at 106 per cent of the long-period average. With the weakening of El Nino conditions and the emergence of La Nina, a stronger monsoon circulation is expected over the subcontinent. Coupled with this, positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions and below-normal snow cover over the northern hemisphere are