New Delhi: The country is likely to have 'near normal' monsoon this year with a well-distributed rainfall which could be beneficial for the agriculture sector, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Monday.

The seasonal rainfall is likely to be 96 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of plus or minus five percent, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) M Rajeevan said. The LPA of the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole for the period 1951-2000 is 89 centimetres. "Forecast suggests that the 2019 southwest monsoon rainfall is likely to be near normal. However, there is very less chance for the monsoon rainfall to be above normal or excess," the IMD said in Long Range Forecast.