India: Southwest Monsoon Update - July 2022

Erratic rainfall during the 2022 southwest monsoon to date has led to a lower kharif 2022 planting campaign across the major crops. The cumulative rainfall for the previous 2021 southwest monsoon (as of July 31, 2021), was eight percent above normal. The kharif 2022 season planting is progressing slowly as erratic rains have led to two percent slower pace of planting than last year, and almost 24 percent slower than normal five-year average. On August 1, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued its Long-Range Forecast for rainfall during the second half (August-September) of the 2022 southwest monsoon. The rainfall over the country during the second half of the season is likely to be normal, between 94 to 106 percent of the long-period average (LPA).