Playing truant so far, southwest monsoon is expected to pick up pace in the latter half of next week as most parts of the country, barring the flood-hit northeast, faced deficient rains.
As the first month of the monsoon season drew to an end, 74 % of the country had received deficient or scant rains since the onset on June 5, raising concerns in the farming community.
"Monsoon rains are expected to pick up in the latter half of next week," Swati Basu, acting director general of India Meteorological Department (IMD), told PTI.
Basu said she expected good rains in July, which was crucial for the largely agriculture-based trillion dollar economy of the country.
"Analysis of current meteorological conditions indicates increase in rainfall activity over east, central and also over northwest India due to development of seasonal eastwest trough with embedded upper air cyclonic circulation," said the IMD forecast for next week issued Friday evening.
"Conditions would become favourable for further advance of monsoon over some more parts of central India and northwest India mainly during second half of the week," it said.
{{/usCountry}}"Conditions would become favourable for further advance of monsoon over some more parts of central India and northwest India mainly during second half of the week," it said.
{{/usCountry}}This season the monsoon had a delayed onset over Kerala which got first seasonal showers on June 5 and made sputtering progress towards the north before being stopped in the tracks by atmospheric storm 'Talim' last week.
IMD data showed four % area of the country getting excess rains, and 22 % area receiving normal rains.
It showed 39 % of the country - parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka - getting deficient rains and another 35 % receiving scanty rains. Almost the entire northwest region, Gujarat and Kutch, Rayalseema and Tamil Nadu have got scanty rains.