India's meteorological department on Wednesday (15) said that the country will receive normal monsoon in this season.
The Southwest monsoon, that covers 75 per cent of the country, is expected to hit during June-September period.
IMD Director General M Mohapatra said that the rainfall is likely to be 100 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of five per cent.
"In these difficult times of coronavirus, the good news is that the country will receive normal rainfall during June to September. This will help our agriculture sector and better crop yield. It will definitely help in economic growth of the country," said M Rajeevan, Secretary, ministry of earth sciences.
The southwest monsoon is not only crucial for farming in the country, but also for replenishing the reservoirs,and more importantly to the economy which is mostly dependent on agriculture.
Northeast monsoon is another phenomenon that brings rainfall to the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh during October to December.
This year the IMD also revised the dates of onset and withdrawal dates of the monsoon for several parts of the country based on the data from 1960-2019.
The previous dates were based on the data from 1901 to 1940.
However, the onset date for monsoon over Kerala, which is June 1, remains unchanged, Rajeevan said.
For the national capital, the new normal onset date for monsoon has been revised from June 23 to June 27, a delay of four days.
Similarly, dates have been revised for Mumbai and Kolkata from June 10 to 11, and for Chennai from June 1 to 4.
Last year, India had received 'above normal' rainfall.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)