Monsoon rains may be "below normal" this year, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said on Wednesday attributing it to the El Nino phenomenon. The monsoon is likely to be 93 per cent of the long period average (LPA), it said. Anything between 90-95 per cent of LPA falls under the "below normal" category. LPA is the average of rainfall between 1951 and 2000, which is 89 cm.

Southwest Monsoon Forecast 2019: Skymet Forecasts below normal Monsoon at 93 percent LPA. https://t.co/xaSKq36keG

— SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) April 3, 2019

If the forecast comes true, then this will be the second consecutive year of a below normal rainfall. East India, along with a major portion of central India, is likely to be at a higher risk of being rain deficient, especially during the first half of the season. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Coastal Andhra Pradesh are most likely to see normal rains throughout the season, the forecast said. Agriculture, the major contributor to the Indian GDP, still heavily relies on seasonal rains. Skymet CEO Jatin Singh said June may see rainfall of 77 per cent of LPA, while July is expected to witness rainfall of 91 per cent of LPA.