India's stalled monsoon is likely to pick up pace in the next three to four days and may cover major rice, soybean, cotton and sugarcane growing regions in southern, central and western states, weather officials said on Tuesday.
The monsoon, the lifeblood of India's $3 trillion economy, provides about 70% of the rainfall it needs to water its farms and recharge reservoirs and aquifers. This also gives relief from the scorching heat.
It usually rains around June 1 in the state of Kerala, on India's southwest coast, and by mid-June covers almost half of the country.
This year, the formation of severe cyclone Biperjoy in the Arabian Sea delayed the onset of monsoon and restricted its progress to one-third of the country.
A senior official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, "Conditions are becoming favorable for the monsoon to strengthen. It will advance rapidly into the central, western and northern parts of the country from this weekend."
Cotton, soybeans and pulses are cultivated mainly in the central parts of the country, which is the largest importer of vegetable oils and pulses and the top cotton producer.
India has received 33% less rainfall than normal so far in June, though the deficit is as high as 95% in some states.
"Based on the information we have now, it looks like monsoon rains will be good this week," said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the IMD.
The IMD has predicted below average rainfall for June, with monsoon expected to increase in July, August and September.
A strong El Niño, marked by sea surface warming over the Pacific Ocean, could cause severe drought in Southeast Asia, India and Australia, while other parts of the world such as the U.S. Rain could drench the Midwest and Brazil.
The emergence of a strong El Niño led to consecutive droughts in 2014 and 2015 for only the fourth time in a century, pushing Indian farmers into extreme poverty.
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